Though Quasar Distributors will soon be under new ownership, expect the team and brand to stay intact after the deal.

David Whitaker Foreside Financial Group, LLC President

"We'll be taking Quasar into the existing Foreside family of broker-dealers. It'll be our 21st broker-dealer," Dave Whitaker, president of Foreside Financial Group, tells MFWire. (Last week Whitaker unveiled an agreement for Portland, Maine-based, private equity-backed Foreside to buy Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Quasar from U.S. Bancorp.) "The name 'Quasar' will stay intact for seamless client and market integration."

Quasar specializes in underwriting and distributor services for mutual funds and ETFs, supporting about 200 clients, Whitaker confirms. He expects the deal to boost that side of Foreside's business to more than 400 clients. (Foreside works with more than 1,500 clients in total, including B-Ds, RIAs, and wealth managers.)

Foreside currently has about 225 employees and eight offices across the U.S. Quasar has a team of 26 people, led by president Teresa Cowan.

"All 26 will be joining the Foreside family ... This will be our ninth regional office location," Whitaker says. "Teresa is absolutely going to be an integral and important part of the integration going forward. We welcome her to the senior management team."

Whitaker describes Quasar as "very complementary" to Foreside's existing business, thanks in part to the "intellectual capital that Quasar brings to the legal underwriting business."

"Quasar does provide some dealer clearing services which will be a newer business to Foreside and one that we're very excited to expand upon," Whitaker says.

Meanwhile, the Foreside team continues to hunt for more deals, Whitaker confirms.

"The inorganic growth fuels our organic growth," Whitaker says. "We're always looking for opportunities where it's a good cultural fit, strategic fit ... We're always interested in expanding our service offering for our existing asset management and wealth management clients." 

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