Advisor Group plucks top LPL executive for senior role
The network realigns management after its acquisition of Ladenburg Thalmann
Advisor Group Inc. has reshuffled its lineup of top executives and plucked a senior official from rival LPL Financial Holdings Inc. to fill a new leadership position.
A network of nine independent broker-dealers, Advisor Group said on Monday it had hired Gregory Cornick from LPL to fill the role of president, advice and wealth management.
It’s a new position that focuses on the oversight for each B-D. Cornick, formerly LPL Financial’s executive vice president, treasurer and head of corporate development and advisor financial solutions, reports directly to Advisor Group CEO Jamie Price. In turn, the heads of the nine broker-dealers will report to Cornick.
Meanwhile, the network has also promoted current executives to have responsibilities across the B-D network. For example, Gregg Johnson, the longtime head of recruiting at Securities America Inc. has been appointed executive vice president of recruiting and revenue acquisition, with oversight over all recruiting and branch acquisitions.
“The business has grown significantly, and we’re designed a five- to 10-year strategy to take resources that support adviser facing business development and putting then in one unit,” Price said in an interview.
And, like the rest of the financial advice industry, Advisor Group is dealing with the anxieties and unknowns of COVID-19.
“This is clearly nothing like anyone has seen before,” Price said. “This is not an industry crisis, like the dot.com crash. There’s a different type of impact when you’re not only going though economic issues, but neighbors and others getting furloughed or getting sick.”
“Our job one is to make sure employees are safe and advisers are doing fine,” he added.
Advisor Group has grown rapidly in recent months. In February, Advisor Group said it had completed its acquisition of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc., creating a giant network of 11,500 advisers and $450 billion of client assets.
Private-equity manager Reverence Capital Partners last summer bought 75% of Advisor Group from Lightyear Capital, PSP Investments and other investors.
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