Former Avantax Advisors Cite Service Decline, Mounting Fees, Shrinking Payouts Amid a proxy battle with an activist investor, advisors who recently left Avantax say service levels suffered and fees rose after parent company Blucora acquired and combined their broker/dealers.
Last month, RIA and investor Ancora started a public proxy battle with executives of Blucora, the parent company of Avantax Wealth Management, the tax-centric broker/dealer created from the acquisitions of HD Vest and 1st Global. Ancora argues Blucora is mismanaging Avantax, resulting in a net loss of 100 advisors over the previous year, and over 700 advisors over the last five years.