As the completion of its blockbuster acquisition by LPL Financial looms, Commonwealth Financial Network has yet again proven its appeal as a destination for elite advisors as a $1.5 billion superteam joins its ranks from Osaic.
The Rochester, New York-based Angelo Planning Group brings with it a team of 30, including 16 financial advisors. Founder and managing partner Ralph Angelo, along with registered principal Todd Harris, led the firm’s transition.
In a statement released Wednesday, Commonwealth said the group is among the largest new affiliates to join its platform.
“We’ve structured the business as a one-stop shop for everything in our clients’ financial lives – from retirement and estate planning to Medicare, long-term care, and other planning specialties,” Angelo said. “Our move to Commonwealth ensures the durability of our service-oriented business model.”
Known for its client-first approach and multigenerational planning strategy, the Angelo Planning Group has reportedly grown its assets nearly tenfold over the past 15 years. Commonwealth noted that the team does not impose minimum asset levels and relies primarily on word-of-mouth referrals to drive growth.
Becca Hajjar, Commonwealth’s managing principal and chief business development officer, welcomed the team’s decision.
“Ralph Angelo and his partners have built a powerhouse practice by putting client service first, and we’re honored they chose Commonwealth to ensure that their model thrives, both now and as we partner with LPL Financial,” she said.
Angelo Planning Group’s switch continues a broader trend of advisors and firms exiting Osaic over the past year, with other billion-dollar teams having walked out the door in the past year.
That includes Academy Financial and PFG Advisors, with a combined $4 billion in assets, which formed a new group under the Academy brand at LPL Financial; Salient Wealth Planning Group, managing $1 billion, which also joined LPL; and the Investment Advisors Financial Group, with $1 billion and 22 advisors, which also moved to LPL.
Retention has been a chronic problem at Osaic, which operated as Advisor Group before its 2023 rebrand, as competing broker-dealers continue to welcome defectors from the firm.
The move to Commonwealth comes as the firm prepares for its own transition. At the end of March, LPL Financial announced it would acquire Commonwealth for $2.7 billion in cash.
Commonwealth, founded in 1979, partners with approximately 2,345 independent financial advisors who collectively oversee more than $344 billion in client assets.
LPL has said it aims to retain 90 percent of Commonwealth’s advisors once the deal is finalized.
However, some observers have questioned whether that retention goal is realistic, as rival firms including Raymond James, Kestra Financial, and Cetera Financial have reportedly been courting Commonwealth advisors, at least some of whom apparently see the deal with LPL as a betrayal of the firm's founding ethos.
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