Cetera nabs top-ranked program manager to boost adviser recruiting

Cetera Financial Institutions has snagged Fifth's Third's program manager, Britt Woods, to spearhead adviser recruiting and business consulting activities for Cetera-affiliated banks and credit unions.

As head of Relationship Management, Woods will spend significant time in the field with Cetera's business consultants and recruiters as well as the financial advisers and the leaders of the wealth management programs they support, according to Cetera's announcement on Thursday.

In addition to adviser recruiting, Woods will help Cetera-affiliated financial institutions grow their wealth management programs by increasing client wallet share and capitalizing on other opportunities to build sales. He will also be responsible for retaining existing financial institution relationships, Cetera said.

Woods, who is based in Franklin, Tennessee, fills a newly created position. He reports to the firm's president, LeAnn Rummel, and works in conjunction with the National Director of Business Development Sean Casey, who oversees the firm's institutional recruiting efforts.

As an investment sales manager at Fifth Third, Woods managed financial advisers, licensed bankers and sales assistants across three different affiliates. He was with Fifth Third in Nashville for almost seven years, BrokerCheck records show.

In an interview with Bank Investment Consultant in 2013 regarding his being named the industry's top program manager, Woods attributed part of his success to being able to assign advisers to the right territories. "If you have someone how comes from a blue-collar background, you need to make sure they're in a blue-collar market," he said.

Rummel praised Woods' "track record of building exceptional adviser business coaching and adviser recruiting programs in the financial institutions channel."

"Britt's expertise will enhance our ability to provide bank and credit union-based financial advisers with highly customized support, thus enabling them to better serve their clients," she said in a statement.

Woods expressed his enthusiasm, saying he was eager to get to know the advisers and programs supported by Cetera. "CFI's ability to help grow bank and credit union wealth management programs … positions the firm for continued leadership in our industry," he said.