LPL elevates Marc Cohen to expanded managing director role

LPL has made another major change in its leadership as it selects the architet to help define its next phase of evolution.

On Monday, the top-ranked wealth firm announced its decision to promote Marc Cohen to managing director of business strategy and innovation.

In his expanded role, Cohen will continue to lead the firm’s corporate strategy while also overseeing business line and affiliation strategies for independent advisors, large enterprises, and institutional channels. Additionally, Cohen will take charge of LPL’s business services offerings and its innovation lab for emerging solutions.

“Marc is an entrepreneur by nature whose innovative thinking has helped reimagine the strategic evolution of our firm, including how advisors and institutions scale their businesses with LPL as their partner,” LPL Financial CEO Rich Steinmeier said in a statement Monday afternoon.

“Respected for his stewardship of independence in the advisor-mediated marketplace, Marc’s expertise elevates the experiences we bring to our clients in every stage of their business and strengthens LPL’s leadership in wealth management through differentiated solutions and innovative strategies,” said Steinmeier, who took the chief executive role at the firm following the surprise ouster of his predecessor Dan Arnold in October.

Cohen’s promotion marks a significant milestone in his tenure with LPL, which began in 2018 when he joined the firm from MarketCounsel.

He built his career around helping wirehouse advisors achieve independence, from building blueprints for breakaways to helping them contiunue with their strategy development, solidifying their operations and compliance, and mapping out their succession planning and exit strategies.

At LPL, he initially played a key role in developing new advisor affiliation models designed to attract wirehouse breakaways and RIAs. Since then, his responsibilities have grown to encompass corporate strategy and initiatives like the firm’s Liquidity & Succession program, which supports advisors in business transitions.

“My commitment to this industry and to LPL is grounded in the rewarding work of guiding advisors towards building thriving businesses to achieve their personal definitions of success,” Cohen said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue scaling our strategies and exploring the innovative ways that LPL can better serve our clients to help them embrace their own entrepreneurial opportunities.”