Updated September 15, 2026. Quick answer: Cetera Advisor Networks LLC is an independent broker-dealer and RIA network whose affiliated advisors are typically dual-registered as broker-dealer reps and, in many cases, licensed insurance agents. The firm has two recent SEC enforcement records worth reading before you sign up: a 2022 settlement over 12b-1 fee conflicts ($5,614,509 disgorgement, $990,961 prejudgment interest, and a $1,000,000 civil penalty each for Cetera Advisors LLC and Cetera Advisor Networks LLC) and a 2024 penalty of $4,500,000 for electronic-communications recordkeeping failures, part of a $392,750,000 combined SEC action against 26 firms. We could not independently confirm Cetera Advisor Networks’ current advisory fee schedule this session (its Form ADV brochure PDF was not text-readable to our tooling), so no specific percentage fee is stated on this page.
Cetera Advisor Networks at a glance
| Fact | What the company’s own pages (or its SEC filings) say |
|---|---|
| Firm type | Independent broker-dealer / RIA network; many affiliated advisors are also licensed insurance agents |
| 2022 SEC action | $5,614,509 disgorgement + $990,961 interest + $1,000,000 penalty per entity, for undisclosed 12b-1 fee conflicts (2012–2016) |
| 2024 SEC action | $4,500,000 penalty (with Cetera Investment Services LLC), part of a $392,750,000 combined 26-firm sweep for off-channel communications |
| Advisory fee schedule | Not independently confirmed by us this session: honest gap, see below |
The 2022 case: 12b-1 fees on funds with cheaper share classes
Per SEC litigation release lr-25564 (October 24, 2022, final judgment entered October 13, 2022, case originally filed August 29, 2019 in the District of Colorado): the SEC found Cetera Advisors LLC and Cetera Advisor Networks LLC “breach[ed] their fiduciary duty and defrauded retail advisory clients” by failing to properly disclose conflicts of interest tied to the firms’ receipt of 12b-1 fees, revenue sharing, administrative fees, and mark-ups. The order covers conduct from at least September 2012 through December 2016: clients were held in mutual fund share classes that charged 12b-1 fees even when lower-cost share classes of the identical funds were available. The combined resolution: $5,614,509 disgorgement (joint and several), $990,961 prejudgment interest, and a $1,000,000 civil penalty per entity, plus a permanent injunction against future violations of Investment Advisers Act Sections 206(2) and 206(4) and Rule 206(4)-7.
The 2024 case: off-channel electronic communications
Per the SEC’s August 14, 2024 press release (2024-98): “Cetera Advisor Networks LLC, together with Cetera Investment Services LLC, which self-reported, agreed to pay a $4.5 million penalty.” This was one piece of a coordinated SEC action against 26 firms totaling $392,750,000 in combined penalties, for firm personnel using unapproved messaging channels for business communications that were not preserved as required under the Advisers Act and Exchange Act recordkeeping rules. Cetera Investment Services self-reported the conduct, which the SEC’s release notes as a mitigating factor industry-wide in that sweep.
What we could not verify
A commonly repeated figure online states Cetera Advisor Networks’ wrap-program advisory fee caps near 2.90% of assets for the first $250,000, but that number traces to a secondary aggregator, not a Cetera-owned page or a text we could read directly off its Form ADV Part 2A. We are not publishing it here as confirmed. If a specific fee percentage matters to your decision, ask your prospective advisor for the current brochure directly, or pull it yourself from the SEC’s public disclosure system (linked below).
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Bottom line
Cetera Advisor Networks LLC is an independent broker-dealer and RIA network whose affiliated advisors are typically dual-registered as broker-dealer reps and, in many cases, licensed insurance agents. See the table above for the full record, including what we could not independently confirm this session.
Sources
- SEC Litigation Release No. 25564 (October 24, 2022): https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/lr-25564
- SEC Press Release 2024-98 (August 14, 2024): https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024-98
- SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, Cetera Advisor Networks (CRD/IAPD firm summary): https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/13572
Methodology. This page was built September 15, 2026, drawing on Cetera Advisor Networks’s own published pages and, where noted, SEC.gov filings and releases, with sources linked inline; any figure we could not independently confirm this session is named as an honest gap above rather than presented as verified.
Independent analysis based on the reviewed company’s own published pages and SEC filings where applicable, cited inline with the date we read them. We have not used Cetera Advisor Networks as a client. Nothing here is personalized financial, tax, or legal advice. Cetera Advisor Networks did not pay for, review, or influence this content. See our Editorial Policy, Corrections, Affiliate Disclosure, and Disclaimer.
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