Shortly after CEO Rich Steinmeier revealed plans to focus more strategically on alternative investments, LPL is officially making good on its pledge to help advisors provide affluent clients with more diversification in their portfolios.
The firm announced it has launched LPL Alts Connect, a full-service platform designed to streamline how financial advisors and their clients access and manage alternative investments. The platform centralizes the purchasing process and introduces digital tools aimed at improving efficiency, transparency, and compliance oversight.
Powered by Subscribe, LPL Alts Connect provides a digitized system for independent advisors and institutions, such as banks and credit unions, offering them access to a broader set of alternative investment products. The platform supports prequalification, e-signature capabilities, and real-time order tracking, helping advisors navigate the complexities of alternative asset management.
Cheri Belski, executive vice president and head of investment management solutions for LPL, highlighted the firm's new "shelf of tailored, institution-caliber opportunities" to let its advisors address the needs of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients.
"As the expectations of investors continue to evolve, this platform will arm advisors with more sophisticated ways to serve their clients," Belski said in a statement on Thursday.
Key features of LPL Alts Connect include a centralized dashboard for managing alternative investments, a one-time prequalification process to eliminate redundant paperwork, and a compliance review system to ensure regulatory adherence before client signatures. LPL notes that the platform reduces processing times, with transactions now expected to close within 14 days on average compared to the previous 40-day timeframe.
Additionally, LPL has enhanced its middle-office services through a partnership with SS&C, leveraging SS&C AltsServe to improve custodial and reporting functions. This relationship aims to expedite the transfer of alternative investments between firms. The company has also expanded its collaboration with iCapital, incorporating a selection of iCapital’s alternative investment funds into its platform.
Steinmeier foreshadowed LPL's platform announcement during the company's earnings call last month, where he highlighed the growth of alternatives selling agreements at the firm over the course of 2024.
"Over the course of 2024, our alternatives with selling agreements that are available for sale on our platform more than doubled as we exited the year with greater than 80 selling agreements," he said. "Our intention over the course of 2025 is to continue to grow that dramatically so that we sit in a fully competitive, best-in-class position in regard to our inventory available for sale with a custody platform that is second-to-none and with a selling process that we think is incredibly strong in the marketplace."
The rollout of LPL Alts Connect comes on the heels of another announcement by Apex Fintech Solutions. On Tuesday, the wealth tech said it plans to introduce Apex Alts, a platform that will allow eligible investors to purchase alternative assets – including private equity, private credit, and nontraded REITS – directly through brokerage accounts.
"With Apex Alts, we’re democratizing access and empowering every interested and qualified investor with a streamlined, intuitive product," Bill Capuzzi, chief executive officer of Apex Fintech Solutions, said Tuesday. "By offering a robust solution for clearing, custody, fund discovery, trading, reporting, and administration, we're fundamentally transforming the alternative investment experience for clients."
Apex Alts, set to launch in 2025, will integrate alternative investments into standard brokerage infrastructure, allowing them to be bought and sold similarly to equities and mutual funds while reducing the complexity and cost barriers traditionally associated with alternative investments.
Meanwhile, CAIS has introduced an enterprise solution designed to integrate alternative investments into turnkey asset management programs and managed account platforms. The new offering enables advisors to manage both traditional and alternative investments within a single system, leveraging CAIS’ pre-trade, trade, and post-trade technology.
"We’re empowering TAMPs and managed account platforms with a robust alternative investment capability enabling them to service their clients more holistically," Matt Brown, founder and CEO of CAIS, said in an announcement Wednesday.
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