Rich Steinmeier, CEO of LPL Financial Holdings, continues to push LPL to unseen avenues with the leading brokerage firm today, unveiling a national ad campaign featuring “Pitch Perfect” film star Anna Kendrick delivering the message, “What if you could?”
The series of ads, which will run across business, sports and lifestyle enterprises, is a first for LPL, the industry's largest broker-dealer for independent contractor financial advisors. In the past, these professionals have become displeased with parent companies like LPL putting the spotlight on their own names and brands rather than those of financial advisors. 
In 2013, LPL dipped its toe into national advertising when it bought time for short ads on business news channel CNBC. But those ad spots were just 10 seconds long and popped up in between news segments, appearing 10 times a day on CNBC for a month and a half. This current campaign is much larger and more mainstream.
The new ad with Kendrick features the actor walking through a town square, pulling a lawn and asking a series of questions, such as, "What if you could get financial advice more easily?"
The lawn is an obvious reference to the rule of thumb - the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
LPL has 29,000 financial advisors under its roof who work with $1.8 trillion in client assets.
Steinmeier is not afraid to push LPL to different areas of the market. He took over as CEO last October and has since engineered perhaps the most notable transaction in the firm’s history, the purchase of rival broker-dealer Commonwealth Financial Network for $1.7 billion in cash.
“This new ad campaign is emblematic of Rich Steinmeier’s goals for LPL, and that’s exciting because that represents growth for the wealth management industry in general by creating more visibility,” said April Rudin, CEO of an eponymous marketing firm.
“The campaign is different because it’s from business to consumer and directed at the end investors who are the least familiar with LPL,” Rudin said. “It also creates a halo effect for advisors and also could have an impact on the firm’s recruiting efforts as well due to greater brand recognition.”
“And Anna Kendrick signifies a younger investor profile that LPL is targeting,” she said. “And also to women. Gone are the days of old yachts in retirement ads to end investors.”
“This is the first big-budget commercial I can recall that's geared to an advisor audience as opposed to an investor-centered message,” said Johnn Sandquist, founder and CEO of Three Crowns Copywriting and Marketing. “It’s pretty cool to see the importance being placed on advisors. There should be more of that. Let's see others follow suit now and give independent advisors the marketing attention they deserve.”
In a press release, Steinmeier said that, “based on advisor feedback, we're introducing LPL Financial to the consumer market for the first time, establishing a connection with the people who rely on LPL advisors and affiliated institutions to help them reach their goals."
A $141M judgment and a federal asset freeze collide over one shrinking pool
The firm's CFO and EVP of Wealth Management Solutions are the latest executives to exit the broker-dealer.
Clients are saying they would consider switching advisors if another professional offered estate planning services, according to a new Trust & Will survey.
CEO Laurel Taylor says the fintech's composable AI stack helps workers optimize dollars across Trump Accounts, 529s, 401(k)s, and other employee benefits.
The bank has swiped three private banking veterans from BNY as the city climbs the ranks of America's fastest-growing wealth hubs.
Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income
Direct indexing is on pace to outgrow ETFs and mutual funds. Northern Trust's Ken Lassner explains why the advisors who get it wish they had started sooner.
