Senior industry executive poses the question after latest switch, this time in investment banking.
The second-generation advisor and former hedge fund analyst reported managing $85 million in assets at the wirehouse.
Sketchy math dogs private market investments sold to retail investors.
The deal for the Orange County, California-based firm’s wealth business is set to add around 125 advisors to LPL.
"Another schlocky broker-dealer gets hit with an arbitration award and the owner and everyone else declare bankruptcy," said one attorney.
The new fiduciary rule will pull a lot of brokers under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and harkens back to the levelized compensation from the 2016 rule.
The broker-dealer giant has onboarded a husband-wife tandem who previously managed $200M at Edward Jones.
"These firms have to go back, hire a new accounting firm and restate financials," said one senior industry executive.
The veteran advisor, whose resume includes time in Silicon Valley, brings a $275M book that includes lawyers, small business owners, and widows.
Deals by LPL underscore surge in price propelled by the ongoing movement to fee-based revenue from one-time commission charges.
"The only way to really address recidivism is through bringing criminal cases," one attorney said.
The two breakaway advisors are launching their own independent practice after managing a book of $240M at Ameriprise.
"Recruiting is as strong as ever" at LPL, one analyst noted.
The broker-dealer behemoth’s recruitment drive continues unabated as it welcomes the pair who reported managing around $200M in assets.
"Every private equity deal we have seen in the brokerage industry has lasted five to seven years," one executive said.
“We’ve done scores of theft cases over the years and it’s a cancer," said one attorney.
The broker-dealer giant is expanding its profile in Texas with a holistic planning firm working with multigenerational clients.
"It doesn't look too problematic at all," Paul Reilly said.
The broker-dealer broadened its advisory footprint in North Carolina as industry veteran returns from Benjamin F. Edwards & Co.
"It appears to be less restrictive than what was proposed," says CEO.
