LPL lays out timetable for robo-platform

LPL Financial is preparing to put its pilot robo-program to the test with a beta version for advisers coming out in the first quarter of next year, the broker-dealer announced during one of its RIA conferences in Miami on Tuesday. Ryan Parker, managing director of investments and planning solutions for LPL, said the firm is setting its sights on rolling out the full version before its annual conference in July. The news comes three months after the broker-dealer announced at its annual conference, LPL Focus, this summer that it was launching a pilot program. The pilot program involves 20 advisers to help lay out the requirements for what makes a successful, and helpful, robo platform, Mr. Parker said. The beta version will be the coded result of those ideas. LPL said its platform will complement its advisers' practices, and will be integrated with its custodial platform. The robo-adviser will be affiliated with a third-party platform, yet to be announced, and offer low-cost exchange-traded-fund portfolios. [Correction: An earlier version of this story misinterpreted the stages of LPL's robo process. The pilot program is the first stage, which is under way, with ideas from it to be incorporated into the beta version, which LPL announced Tuesday would be coming out in the first quarter of 2016.]