Overland Park investment firm sold to RCS Capital

A New York-based investment firm has completed its purchase of VSR Group Inc., a 30-year-old, family-owned Overland Park company.

The regional securities firm was founded in 1985 by Donald Beary and J. Michael Stanfield. VSR, which operates VSR Financial Services Inc., has $12.3 billion in assets under management and a network of 264 financial advisers.

VSR is now among nine financial services firms that comprise Cetera Financial Group, a unit of publicly traded RCS Capital.

Financial terms of the deal, first announced last August, were not disclosed.

Stanfield, VSR’s chief executive officer, said in a statement that the sale will improve the resources and support services for its advisors. VSR will also maintain its name and independent operations.

Larry Roth, Cetera’s chief executive officer, said VSR “adds a strong family culture, which complements the individual cultures of the existing Cetera Financial Group firms.” He also noted VSR’s strength of having “an established presence, predominantly in the Midwest.”

VSR also has an experienced group of advisers, with an average retention rate of 98 percent. About 45 percent of the revenue the company generates comes from advisory fees and 55 percent from commissions.

This story was originally published March 24, 2015 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Overland Park investment firm sold to RCS Capital."