Office address: 275 Wyman St., Suite 400, Waltham, MA
Website: commonwealth.com
Year established: 1979
Company type: financial services
Employees: 1,100+
Expertise: independent financial advisory support, practice management, advanced planning and research, marketing support, investment solutions, compliance services, technology platforms, business transitions, affiliation models
Parent company: LPL Financial
Key people: Wayne Bloom (CEO), Trap Kloman (president), Brian Price (chief investment officer), Jon Cleasby (CFO), Rory Barratt (chief strategy officer), Christopher Blotto (chief digital officer), Brian Sullivan (CMO)
Financing status: corporate-backed or acquired
Commonwealth Financial Network operates as an independent broker/dealer serving financial advisors throughout the US. The Waltham-based firm provides affiliation models, marketing support, and investment platforms to more than 2,900 advisors. The company maintains offices in Massachusetts, California, and Ohio.
Commonwealth emerged in 1979 when Joe Deitch transformed his retail financial planning practice into a broker/dealer. Deitch's original practice, the Cambridge Group, served as the foundation for the new Massachusetts firm.
The company was built to serve advisors, clients, and staff equally. Commonwealth became the official name in 1981 to reflect this shared-benefit philosophy. It started with two advisors but grew steadily under Deitch's leadership.
The company introduced its first mutual fund wrap program in 1984 as fee-based management gained traction. The firm recognized advisors as business owners who needed more than product support.
Commonwealth also launched practice management assistance in 1989 to help advisors with strategic planning and staff management.
The firm expanded its service offerings throughout the 1990s and developed Preferred Portfolio Services. Commonwealth Financial Network became the official company name in 1999 to reflect its national reach.
The broker-dealer opened a San Diego office in 2000 to serve West Coast advisors as well. It then surpassed $100 billion in assets by 2015. The firm hit $1 billion in annual revenue that same year and launched Advisor360° in 2019.
The company earned recognition in InvestmentNews' 2024 Fastest-Growing Employers award for top net advisor gains. It led both the national category and independent broker-dealer channel in 2023 recruiting. The firm showed how partnerships between firms and advisors create value through shared resources and scale.
Commonwealth Financial Network was also bought by LPL Financial for $2.7 billion in a deal announced in March 2025. The transaction closed in August 2025 with advisor platform integration expected to finish by late 2026.
Commonwealth offers advisor-focused solutions designed to support independent financial practices at every stage:
Commonwealth Financial Network also produces thought leadership content like "The Advisor's Guide to Philanthropic Giving for HNW Clients." The white paper equips advisors with strategies and case studies for guiding wealthy clients through charitable giving.
Commonwealth Financial Network describes its culture as shaped by employee collaboration and shared experiences. The firm states that it prioritizes teamwork, learning, and advisor support.
According to the company, employees work together while creating what it calls phenomenal advisor experiences. Commonwealth's values are:
Commonwealth Financial Network offers benefits designed to support employee well-being:
The firm extends its community focus beyond internal benefits through charitable work. Its non-profit, Commonwealth Cares Fund, coordinates employee and advisor contributions across the company's three US offices.
Wayne Bloom is Commonwealth Financial Network's CEO. He is also a managing director at LPL Financial. Bloom earned a business management degree from Northeastern University and completed the Owner/President Management program at Harvard Business School.
A leadership team supports Bloom in running Commonwealth Financial Network:
The leadership team operates as a collaborative group focused on advisor support. Commonwealth's leaders prioritize serving what they describe as client-focused and knowledgeable advisors.
Following the LPL Financial acquisition, the company lost 653 advisors between April and December 2025. The firm retained 77.5 percent of its 2,900 advisors as many sought boutique cultures elsewhere. This transition tests Commonwealth's ability to preserve its advisor-focused identity within LPL's larger infrastructure.
Despite the departures, Commonwealth Financial Network retained its most profitable advisors under the LPL integration. The firm reported that advisors representing over 80 percent of assets signed agreements to stay. It remains a separate brand, with analysts projecting that the deal will drive 20 percent earnings growth.
New recruits join from JPMorgan, Commonwealth, Edelman
JPMorgan and RBC have also welcomed ex-UBS advisors in Texas, while Steward Partners and SpirePoint make new additions in the Sun Belt.
Firm recruits advisors managing a combined $430 million.
The strategic merger of equals with the $27 billion RIA firm in Los Angeles marks what could be the largest unification of the summer 2025 M&A season.
Longtime Commonwealth marketing executive Sarah Howes has been hired to spearhead advisor marketing at Farther, and 16 ex-Commonwealth advisors totaling $1.7 billion AUM are set to follow her to the technology-focused RIA.
However, Raymond James has had success recruiting Commonwealth advisors.
Elsewhere, Osaic extended its reach in Knoxville with a former TrustFirst team, while Raymond James scored another win in the war for Commonwealth advisors.
Those jumping ship include women advisors and breakaways.
Firms announce new recruits including wirehouse breakaways.
Advisors who invest time and energy on vital projects for their practice could still be missing growth opportunities – unless they get serious about client-facing activities.
Wells Fargo, Commonwealth, UBS are the firms losing advisor teams.
Elsewhere, an advisor formerly with a Commonwealth affiliate firm is launching her own independent practice with an Osaic OSJ.
Meanwhile, Osaic secures a new credit union partnership, and Compound Planning crosses another billion-dollar milestone.
Steward Partners adds a $481 million Ohio-based team, while $35.7 billion &Partners expands its reach in Minnesota.
"We introduced a program that solves for clients, staff, and the valuation needs of our advisors ... We're protecting the thing that makes our advisors special – that entrepreneurial spirit, that local flavor," Jeremy Holly, LPL's EVP of Business & Lifecycle Solutions, said.
