Office address: 4707 Executive Drive, San Diego, CA 92121
Website: lpl.com
Year established: 1989
Company type: financial services
Employees: 9,000+
Expertise: wealth management, investment advisory, retirement planning, brokerage services, portfolio management, research, compliance support, technology solutions, institutional services, succession planning
Parent company: LPL Financial Holdings
Key people: Rich Steinmeier (CEO), Matt Audette (CFO), Marc Cohen (chief growth officer), Greg Gates (chief technology and information officer), Emily Field (chief people officer), Matthew Enyedi (chief client officer), Aneri Jambusaria (chief wealth officer)
Financing status: corporation
LPL Financial is a San Diego-based independent wealth management company. The firm has additional offices in Fort Mill, Austin, and Boston. It supports over 28,000 financial advisors and offers investment products, technology, and research tools. The company is known for its flexible business models and broad, non-proprietary investment options.
LPL Financial came to life in 1989 when Linsco and Private Ledger merged to form a new kind of firm. The founders wanted to give independent advisors more support, better technology, and a wide set of investment choices. Their goal was to help advisors serve clients with more freedom and better tools.
The company quickly grew by focusing on advisor independence and client choice. In 2010, LPL formed a political action committee to represent advisors and clients in Washington. This move showed the firm’s commitment to keeping financial advice objective and accessible.
LPL made big moves in the industry by acquiring several firms. In 2017, it bought National Planning Holdings, which added four broker-dealers to its network.
The company also acquired AdvisoryWorld in 2018, bringing new technology for portfolio analytics and modeling. In 2020, LPL expanded further by purchasing E.K. Riley Investments, Lucia Securities, and Blaze Portfolio, adding more advisors and new trading technology.
The company completed its acquisition of Commonwealth Financial Network in 2025. This added around 3,000 advisors and $305 billion in assets. This move brings Commonwealth’s award-winning service culture and improves LPL’s market position.
LPL also welcomed Tennant Financial, a team with $1.3 billion in assets, to its platform in 2025. The group joined from Northwestern Mutual and brought years of experience in serving high-net-worth clients. This move showed LPL’s commitment to holistic planning and advanced technology.
LPL Financial provides many investment and banking solutions for independent advisors and their clients:
LPL Financial is also recognized for its strong research, advisor training, and customizable business models. Advisors benefit from a national network, consultative support, and 24/7 client account access.
According to the company, staff are encouraged to think ahead and focus on customer needs by finding new ways to solve challenges. LPL Financial also highlights a range of benefits for employees:
LPL Financial reports that it values a workplace where different perspectives are respected and welcomed. The firm created a dedicated role to support women advisors and attract more women to its network. It states that diversity and inclusion help strengthen the financial advice profession and its community.
Rich Steinmeier began serving as CEO of the firm since 2024 and previously held leadership roles at the company. Before joining LPL, Steinmeier worked in senior positions at UBS and Merrill Lynch. He earned degrees from Stanford Graduate School of Business and The Wharton School.
The leadership team at LPL Financial brings a range of experience and skills to support the firm’s mission:
These key people at LPL Financial aim to help clients succeed and simplify the advisor experience. Their goal is to let advisors focus on serving clients, not on business complexity.
To help advisors plan for the future and protect their businesses, LPL Financial has launched its Liquidity and Succession program in 2025. The company offers creative solutions like partial book sales and business exit planning, which let advisors focus on clients while optimizing their practice. This approach supports long-term growth for both LPL and its advisors, which makes it more adaptable as the industry changes.
After the company completed its $2.7 billion acquisition of Commonwealth Financial Network, it aimed to keep 90 percent of Commonwealth’s advisors. Although about 5 percent of these advisors left for competitors, LPL continues to focus on retaining top talent. This effort helps provide stability for clients and strengthens the firm’s position in a competitive market.
Broker-dealer agrees to a $1.4 million fine and will return investor money on approximately 2,000 sales of nontraded REITs. Firm also settles with states regarding leveraged ETFs.
New Hampshire securities regulator claims unsupervised sale to 81-year-old investor was unsuitable and resulted in significant losses.
The firm's settlement with the states was reminiscent of how broker-dealers handled various settlements in paying clients who bought auction rate securities.
In moves that indicate across the board belt-tightening at LPL Financial, the company has eliminated as many as 70 jobs and is delaying raises to employees next year by at least six months.
Activist investor Marcato could demand more of a say in how the company is run in effort to boost its stock price.
With giant broker-dealer's stock down 25% from its high last year, experts say Marcato could push for major changes.
Big firms target next year to join robo ranks, look to differentiate as market becomes crowded.
LPL CEO Casady says that as written, rule would bar sales of certain alternative investments in brokerage retirement accounts. <i>(See also: <a href="http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20150430/BLOG07/150439998/democratic-senators-split-from-white-house-on-dol-fiduciary-rule" target="_blank">Democratic senators split from White House on DOL fiduciary rule</a>)</i>
Now that RCS Capital Corp. has sold its wholesaling business, the cost-cutting can begin in earnest at the 11 broker-dealers with 9,500 advisers who make up its Cetera Financial Group, led by CEO Larry Roth.
$909 million raised is almost as much as the $1.04 billion the firm raised all of last year.
As spreads tighten, turning attention to lodging, self-storage and Europe.
One securities analyst says the brokerag firm, with its rich capital reserves, could be attractive to an investor seeking to boost shareholder value.
IBDs haven't considered digital advice services as important enough to offer their advisers but that may change next year, with at least a couple ramping up to offer a robo in 2016.
The key to success is an even and relentlessly optimistic demeanor.
