A midsize IBD that’s grown steadily in recent years has a new foothold in one of the nation’s largest markets.
Securian Financial tapped veteran financial advisor P.Q. Le to launch Providential Legacy Group in Atlanta, where Le says he aims to recruit a team of 35 representatives and other employees by 2023. He sees potential for the office of supervisory jurisdiction-like group to grow in that span to as many as 50 employees, including his wife and longtime colleague Kim.
Le left Prudential’s broker-dealer to serve as one of Securian’s roughly 50 managing partners who operate from 40 offices across the nation. With an approach of identifying leaders and investing in their teams as they build new markets for the firm, the insurer’s IBD has boosted its annual revenue by nearly 20% over the past five years to $369.3 million in 2019.
“We don’t want to just bring people in; we want to bring in quality, high-profile, highly successful advisors,” Le says. “This is the first time in my career that I don’t have a quarterly quota to meet.”
He opened the new office virtually on April 1 after his seven-year tenure with Pruco Securities came to an end. Representatives for Prudential didn’t respond to a request for comment on Le’s departure.
In addition to appointing advisors to the leadership roles in new offices, Securian also recruits experienced reps to them and trains new entrants to the industry, according to Tony Martins, the firm’s vice president of career distribution.
As a “relationship-driven organization,” the insurer-owned firm offers advisors independence “with a hug” in the form of resources and infrastructure, he says.
Securian Financial
Atlanta “is a location that we have wanted to be a part of for quite some time,” Martins says. “We look for leadership quality first…We really have a structured onboarding program for both P.Q. and any advisor who looks to join us.”
Le’s 35-year career also includes tenures with Hornor, Townsend & Kent, Equitable Advisors and Ameriprise, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. His wife Kim had served as his team’s operations manager when they ran seven offices under Prudential, and she’s the executive assistant of the new office in Atlanta.
Martins and Le discussed the potential career change during three meetings over a period of a few months. Securian’s model of providing “any kind of support” for a local footprint emerged as a fit for Le.
“They didn’t try to impress me, they didn’t try to wow me,” he says. “That is when I was very convinced that this is the company.”
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