LPL delays full rollout of new tech platform

After experiencing kinks in its new wealth management technology platform last week, LPL Financial told its 15,200 advisers Friday that it has decided to keep its old system up and running rather than shut it down at the end of next month. Toward the end of last month, LPL started directing advisers trying to access LPL's old technology system, BranchNet, which was introduced around the turn of the century, toward the new one, dubbed ClientWorks. Advisers were able to toggle back to BranchNet after logging into ClientWorks. Some LPL advisers have expressed unhappiness with the new system. ClientWorks clogged up around 3:30 last Tuesday afternoon, frustrating advisers who wanted to make trades. LPL advisers also sounded off last month on a private LinkedIn chat room about pending technology changes, fearing that the company would require a move to the new system before it was ready. LPL apparently heeded those concerns. According to a company spokesman, Jeff Mochal, BranchNet was scheduled to be fully retired by the end of April, but its shutdown will now be pushed back till later this year. In an email sent to advisers late Friday, LPL managing director Andy Kalbaugh said advisers' comments and suggestions led the firm to delay closing BranchNet. "Based on recent assessments, we've decided to postpone retiring BranchNet until later this year," Mr. Kalbaugh wrote in the email, which was later posted to Twitter. "We want you to be confident and delighted with the tools and technology we offer to run your businesses and serve investors." LPL's move to ClientWorks has been several years in the making. When LPL announced ClientWorks to its advisers at its annual meeting in August 2014, the company said the full product would be released in the spring of 2015. The firm blew past that deadline; at the start of 2016, about 3,000 LPL advisers had access to ClientWorks, with additional functions being introduced over time. LPL plans to spend more than $15 million on ClientWorks upgrades this year, including making more than 40 improvements over the next two months across trading, account management, client management, compensation and billing, and more, according to Mr. Kalbaugh's email. LPL also wants to ensure that the trading function has the "resiliency" its advisers require, according to the email.