Cetera's fifth channel puts every independence option under one roof

Cetera has created a fifth advisor channel and named Jen Hanau to lead it. NAPA Net reported the launch of the RIA and Branches Channel, which supports advisors who run their own RIA, work inside one of Cetera's W-2 employee RIA models, or choose its supported independence model. Hanau arrives from Mariner with more than two decades of recruiting, platform development, and growth work.

The channel brings four communities together. Avantax Planning Partners, a tax-focused hybrid W-2 RIA, works with CPA firms. Cetera Investors runs more than 40 branch offices where advisors operate independently on Cetera-managed infrastructure. Cetera Blueprint is for advisors who want to own their RIA with an experienced partner — and for those still building one. The Retirement Planning Group is fee-only, W-2, and built on comprehensive planning.

Hanau's résumé tracks the RIA migration. At Mariner she was national managing director of the independent channels, expanding the platform and its full-service support model. Earlier, at Fidelity and Schwab, her work centered on recruiting and consulting advisors about the benefits of the RIA model. In her new role she owns sales strategy, client-facing teams, and business growth.

For an advisor comparing firms, the structure matters more than the title. Cetera no longer forces a choice between employment and independence in one conversation. It presents a four-item menu, each entry claiming the same platform underneath. That is a strong pitch to a breakaway advisor who might otherwise leave a broker-dealer entirely to own their book.

For an advisor already at Cetera, the new channel changes the calculation. Moving from a W-2 seat to a branch office or into Blueprint no longer means leaving the firm's orbit; it takes a conversation inside one channel. Assets and recruiting stay in the house, and Hanau becomes a retention officer as much as a recruiter.

The industry has been drifting this way. Firms with the resources are building employment, independence, and acquisition into one platform so an advisor never has to leave to change status. Cetera has now given that idea an org chart and a named leader.

What the announcement leaves out is the economics. Cetera did not disclose payout grids, transition packages, or the number of advisors in each community. The structure lays out the range of choices; the price of each is the missing piece. Until those numbers appear, advisors comparing the four communities have only the firm's claim that all four get the same support.

Hanau struck a client-first note. "I'm honored to lead Cetera's RIA and Branches Channel and am excited to build a platform prioritizing clients' best interests," she said. Todd Mackay, president of Cetera Wealth Management, called the launch a significant milestone in the firm's evolution.

The outside recruits will be the test. How many advisors come in from other firms, rather than simply move between Cetera's own communities, will matter most. Hanau spent years at Mariner, Fidelity, and Schwab advising advisors on the benefits of the RIA model. Now she runs the unit designed to keep those same advisors inside Cetera's system. If the pitch works, the four communities become a reliable source of new advisors. If not, the fifth channel remains an org chart with more than 40 branch offices.