Blucora Names Ex-Fidelity Executive CEO of Brokerage Unit -- Street Moves

By Michael Wursthorn

The former head of Fidelity Investments' RIA business has been named chief executive of Blucora Inc.'s brokerage unit, HD Vest.

Bob Oros, who had worked at Fidelity for five years, will succeed outgoing HD Vest chief executive Roger Ochs on Feb. 28, Blucora said in a statement. Mr. Ochs will remain with the company through March 31, the company added.

Mr. Oros had been running Fidelity's RIA unit since 2015, the latest stint in a five-year career at the investment firm. Before that, he had worked with Trust Company of America, LPL Financial Holdings Inc. and Charles Schwab Corp.

HD Vest is an independent broker-dealer that provides wealth-management services for tax professionals. Blucora acquired the business in 2015 from a group of investors that included private-equity firm Parthenon Capital Partners for $580 million.

Internet-services company Blucora, which was formerly known as InfoSpace, said it acquired HD Vest to create cross-selling opportunities between its various products. Users of Blucora's tax prep software TaxAct, for example, could also benefit from HD Vest's retirement and investment products, the company suggested at the time of the acquisition.

The internet company said the purchase of HD Vest would create cross-selling opportunities, such as offering its TaxAct customers HD Vest's retirement and investment products.

Write to Michael Wursthorn at Michael.Wursthorn@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 23, 2017 09:29 ET (14:29 GMT)

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