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.
One of the broker-dealers in the ING Advisors Network Inc. is on the brink of losing representatives and advisers who generate $21 million in fees and commissions to rival firms.
In the wake of a security breach that affected more than 10,000 clients, LPL Financial has taken several steps to increase data protection.
The model aims to create an industry standard to streamline the process of selling VA contracts and simplify compliance.
AIG Advisor Group, continuing to play a game of musical chairs with the executives in charge of its various broker-dealers, has replaced James Cannon with Jeffrey Auld as president and chief executive of both AIG Financial Advisors Inc. of Phoenix and American General Securities Inc. of Houston.
AIG Advisor Group continues to play a game of musical chairs with the heads of its various broker-dealers, this time replacing James Cannon with Jeffrey Auld, who becomes president and chief executive of both AIG Financial Advisors Inc. of Phoenix and American General Securities Inc. of Houston.
Several months ago, Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors Inc. surveyed the competitive landscape and decided it was time to make a change.
Mark J. Schlafly will lead two broker-dealers, FSC Securities Corp. and Advantage Capital Corp., both of Atlanta.
Advisers and the vendors serving them agree the Internet — first as a communication tool and later as home to numerous hosted applications — is the single most important technology innovation affecting the industry in the last decade.
Over the past 10 years, the world of independent-contractor broker-dealers has been turned on its ear.
Competition is stiffening among firms that keep assets under custody — and that situation could lead to cheaper, faster and better business for independent registered investment advisers.
Fidelity Investments' recent launch of an emerging-markets fund may signal the next frontier, but emerging markets' reputation for risk will likely lead investors to keep exposure to a minimum.
LPL Financial, the nation's largest independent-contractor broker-dealer, is on the lookout for plum acquisition candidates, although a top executive says growth through current advisers is the company's prime goal.
A large number of small-cap funds have reopened in recent months and are drawing the attention of financial advisers.
Concentrating on its existing 11,100 advisers is LPL's first priority, said executive William Dwyer III.
The largest IDB will allow RIAs to hold fee-based assets with outside custodians; it's also rolling out its own custody platform for RIAs later this year.
