LPL Financial has tapped a firm veteran, Ken Hullings, to take over as head of recruiting, one of the most coveted and prestigious jobs in the independent broker-dealer industry, as advisors from the purchase of Commonwealth Financial Network continue to settle into working with LPL.
The senior recruiter position at LPL Financial, which works with more than 30,000 financial advisors, can lead to future success and industry leadership.
“Advisor recruiting is core to how we grow,” wrote LPL’s chief growth officer Marc Cohen in a memo this week. “With Ken leading this work and partnering across the firm, we’re well positioned to keep building on our momentum.”
Prior heads of advisor recruiting at LPL Financial, a powerhouse in recruiting advisors and buying firms, include Rich Steinmeier, the CEO of LPL Financial Holdings Inc., and Bill Dwyer, executive chairman at Praxis Solutions Inc., a technology offering for wealth management firms.
Hullings' new title is executive vice president, business development. He starts in November and replaces Scott Posner, who left the firm earlier this year.
Posner joined LPL Financial in 2018 as vice president of business development. He was later promoted to managing director and was most recently focused on smoothing the move of the advisors of Commonwealth Financial Network, which LPL acquired last year, to LPL.
LPL Financial Holdings is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings next week. Steinmeier and other executives routinely include an outlook for recruiting during conference calls with analysts.
“With over 20 years at the firm, Ken brings deep LPL and industry knowledge, a strong track record of exceptional leadership—including in roles throughout business development, and a steadfast commitment to the enduring success of our firm and to the people he leads,” according to Cohen’s memo.
“While there was significant external interest from high caliber talent, no candidate matched the combination of experience, leadership, relationships, and alignment to our core values that Ken brings to this role,” according to the memo.
“Since joining LPL in 2005, Ken has held progressive leadership roles across business development and client success, coming up from our inside sales desk, serving as regional director, and growing into leadership roles as division manager, head of sales strategy and enablement, and head of institutional sales, according to the memo.
In July, LPL Financial Holdings reported recruited assets totaling $25 billion for the second quarter, up 35% from a year ago and, according to statements made by executives on the earnings call, the strongest recruiting quarter in nearly two years when large institutional wins are excluded.
Steinmeier told analysts on the call that advisor movement industry-wide had returned closer to historical norms during the quarter, which he said benefited LPL disproportionately given its existing share of advisors changing firms.
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