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.
LPL's new deal to attract employee advisers has two parts: an upfront signing bonus and a second bonus that's paid over several years.
David Crossan and John Stephens Jr. set up shop in Manahawkin and Manchester on the New Jersey shore.
The addition of Carroll Financial Associates adds $4.7 billion and an expansion into the Carolinas for the $45.5 billion RIA.
John Vande Bossche leads the six-person team in Anaheim, California, that includes his wife, son and daughter.
Francis Ciocari is affiliating with the firm through super OSJ Gladstone Wealth Partners and will be opening an office in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.
LPL made clear it was eyeing Voya financial advisers after Cetera Financial Group Inc. said it was buying the firm in February.
The six-adviser team at TBT Financial Services is based in Tyler and Longview, Texas
Allison Taylor leads the all-female group in Huntington Beach, California.
Two clients complained to LPL about annuity contracts that differed from the ones they agreed to purchase, according to the regulator.
The two advisers are affiliating with LPL Financial through its service for breakaway brokers.
For decades, the prevailing wisdom among recruiters and industry executives has been that wirehouse advisers are far less likely to move to independent broker-dealers than other advisers.
After 14 years as the firm's chief investment officer, Burt White is retiring in March, according to a company announcement. LPL, now with more than 19,000 affiliated financial advisers, is currently looking for a replacement.
We have all been told at some point in our lives to measure twice and cut once. Our annual custodian study generated the unique, and precise, data that you have come to expect from InvestmentNews Research.
Fueled by gains in the independent channel, tech-friendly firms are tweaking the custodial model and posing new challenges for incumbents.
The adviser, Nicholas Spagnoletti, used his personal cellphone to upload, possess and distribute images of child pornography, according to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office in New Jersey.
