The competing legal strategies appear contrary to Stifel's public statements about defending its structured notes' tactics.
For decades, the bulk of the retail brokerage industry has moved away from selling expensive, proprietary funds.
LPL is an acquisition machine, but the two deals are designed differently.
An effort by the advisor to move to the bank's independent contractor division proved to be a critical detail to the dispute.
"It should be literally impossible for a broker to put 96% of a client's money in any investment," said one attorney.
The campaign series features "Pitch Perfect" film star Anna Kendrick delivering the message, "What if you could?"
But that doesn't mean the contentiousness between the two is over.
The giant broker-dealer network and Jim Nagengast, the former CEO of one of its biggest firms, are duking it out in public over compensation.
Last summer, the two, David Gentile and Jeff Schneider, were found guilty of fraud in federal court in Brooklyn and received their sentencing today.
Led by its CEO, LPL is engaging in what sounds like a charm offensive with some Commonwealth advisors.
