Ladenburg Thalmann, which owns Triad Advisors and Investacorp and reportedly is looking for more acquisitions, may take a flyer on a "bargain basement" purchase.  If reports are correct, the firm is targeting Securities America, which Ameriprise Financial put on the market in late April.  Another anonymous industry source said that Securities America reps were being told to stay put as Triad Advisors has put in a bid.  Neither firm would comment.

Recruiter Jonathan Henschen expected Ladenburg to be a primary candidate for Securities America because Ladenburg has been aggressively shopping for broker-dealers.  Ladenburg supposedly has been sending out feelers for firms that might be interested in selling itself. 

A Securities America Acquisition.   Ladenburg, with its deep pockets and with little exposure to the alternative investments that have plagued independent B/D's, would make a reasonable buyer for Securities America, according to recruiter Henschen.  Other recent active acquirers of independent broker-dealers have been:  LPL Financial;  PE firm Lightyear Capital;  privately-held financial services company Securian Financial Services;  and Securities America, itself.

It's anticipated that Securities America could be a smooth transition for Ladenburg's existing pool of retail broker-dealers.  Securities America already is run as an independent operation, so the firm's not looking for a huge amount of support from a parent company, and Ladenburg likely wouldn’t encroach on the independence of Securities America’s advisors.

But Securities America’s 1,900 advisors would need some sort of assurance about their retention.  Triad has about 450 reps, while Investacorp has 400.  But Securities America has seen a lot of advisors leave ever since Ameriprise announced plans to sell the unit - with LPL doing much of the recruiting.    [Registered Rep, 6/23/11]