Mike Durbin reunites with his Fidelity/eMoney running mate, Ed O'Brien as No. 2 at Cetera, in part to help 'RIA & Branches' channel take shape

Every Batman needs his Robin and now Mike Durbin has Edward O'Brien riding shotgun with him, again, at Cetera, just a year after Durbin took the CEO reins and launched a major RIA strategy.

Fidelity Investments' two most consequential RIA custody and clearing executives of the past 20 years will reunite in May as the No. 1 and No. 2 executives at El Segundo, Calif., broker-dealer. 

The $640 billion, 12,000-advisor firm has also become a serious serial RIA buyer. See: Cetera acquisition of $1.4 billion RIA clarifies urgent hire of Mike Durbin, both acquired to address 'trail revenue stream poison pill' that otherwise discourages advisors from dumping FINRA, exec says

No RIA technology talent of the O'Brien stature has popped onto the advisory market in years, says Joel Bruckenstein, producer of the T3 conference series.

“He's an asset, a major asset,” he says. "Guys like that don't fall out of the tree every day. He's been in clearing and custody so he really knows his stuff."

Durbin agreed in a brief email message. 

“Yes, Ed is a very pivotal hire,” he writes. “Happy to share more details as we get closer to his start date (end of May).”

Durbin added in a release: "Ed’s role is to turn our platform into a true growth engine, turbocharged by AI, for advisors and a source of confidence and continuity for investors.”

Shared destiny

O'Brien announced his retirement from Fidelity in January. Cetera announced its current chief operating officer, Tom Gooley was retiring in January, too. Nobody connected those dots at the time, including Bill Winterberg, longtime RIA consultant.

"When I saw Ed post on LinkedIn in January that he was retiring from Fidelity, I assumed he was ‘done done,’ and retiring altogether. I mean, he's earned it, with an incredible 35+ year career in the industry.

But then I saw his announcement that he was joining Cetera, and I admit my jaw dropped. My first question was "Why Cetera?!?"

And then I saw Michael Durbin's post welcoming O'Brien as the COO, which connected the obvious dots. This isn't the first time they've worked in close succession, so there's definitely an element of "bringing the band back together" in this context.

Cetera had about $242 billion of AUA when its current owner, Genstar, bought it in 2018, and now has $640 billion in assets under administration (AUA), and $294 billion in assets under management (AUM).

Durbin oversaw Fidelity's RIA custody business at the same time that O'Brien headed up its platform technology, yet the two executives forged a particularly shared destiny. 

They were installed sequentially as the executives to head eMoney after Edmond Walters suddenly departed following Fidelity's acquisition. See: As Ed O'Brien packs his bags for Philly to take eMoney CEO reins, Mike Durbin resumes his job modifying Fidelity's future from finance to software

Durbin subsequently rose through the ranks at Fidelity and headed Fidelity Institutional before departing in 2023 to become CEO of Cetera Holding. 

Two years later he hecame CEO of the broker-dealer the corporation holds. See: Mike Durbin set to take CEO reins at Cetera to further Genstar's bold mission, with $1 trillion looming on the horizon and his eyes on the prize

O'Brien also eventually returned to Fidelity from the Conshohocken, Pa.-based financial planning software giant.

Meaningful impact

Though no doubt O'Brien will help build a better IBD platform for brokers a Cetera, his RIA experience, and knowledge – coupled with Durbin's – could be applied very effectively to Cetera's recently launched RIA & Branches channel, Bruckenstein says.

“An IBD buying RIAs makes no sense," he adds. ”But these guys know what a good RIA looks like. It's the kind of thing that Mike and Ed can figure out."

The new RIA unit “will manage Cetera's independent RIA services, W-2 employee-based RIA models, and supported independent businesses,” headed by Jen Hanau, the release states. It had more than 600 advisors overseeing an estimated $33.5 billion in client assets as of March 2025 at its launch.

It may help explain what Cetera, as a smaller company, has that Fidelity doesn't – infinite headroom by comparison.

“What attracted me to Cetera is the tremendous growth opportunity,” said O’Brien in the release.

“I believe my experience can drive meaningful impact, and I look forward to partnering with Mike and the leadership team to accelerate Cetera’s market position. 

"Cetera has built a powerful platform and strong momentum, and the growth runway ahead is significant.”

Winterberg says the two old RIA custody leaders could think big about the RIA opportunity.

“Can Cetera sweep in to the wake of the Schwab/TD Ameritrade Institutional acquisition and attract these RIAs that are frustrated with their current custody options?” he asks. “I think Durbin realizes the opportunity that exists, and identified O'Brien as a key catalyst to move Cetera into a position to do so. We'll have to wait and see what happens next.”