LPL's Mark Casady not turning his back on financial services industry

LPL Financial's CEO and chairman Mark Casady will be retiring next month, but that doesn't mean he is turning his back on the financial services industry. If an announcement Thursday is any indication, Mr. Casady will be focused to some degree on the future of Vestigo Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Cambridge, Mass., that focuses on financial technology and is a stone's throw from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (MORE: LPL sued by Galvin over top producer's alleged variable annuity abuses) Mr. Casady is one of the founders of Vestigo, according to a press release on Thursday announcing an investment into a LifeYield, software firm that promises to improve after-tax returns across investors' multiple accounts. The amount Vestigo invested in LifeYield was not stated in the press release. According to an email sent to LPL's more than 14,000 advisers Monday morning, Mr. Casady, 56, will retire next month and will be replaced by the 51-year old Dan Arnold, currently the firm's president. Mr. Casady will remain as non-executive chairman until March. According to Vestigo's website, Mr. Casady is a general partner and advisory board chairman of the firm, which invests in early stage financial technology companies, targeting initial investment. Vestigo's 13-person advisory board includes Andy Putterman, a founder and CEO of Fortigent, a technology and research platform for financial advisers that LPL Financial acquired in 2012; and Darlene Deremer, the managing partner and head of advisory practice at Grail Partners, an investment bank that focuses on financial services. An LPL spokeswoman, Heather Carter, noted that Mr. Casady is an investor in Vestigo and was not involved in actively managing the fund's business.