Securities America snags $800 million firm from LPL

Securities America Inc., a subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. with more than 2,000 advisers, has picked up an $800 million registered investment adviser formerly associated with LPL Financial Inc. The firm, BEAM Asset Management, has around 32 advisers and brought in $6.5 million in annual revenue, according to a statement from Securities America. BEAM was formed in March from the merger of two smaller firms, Financial & Investment Management Advisors and Universal Financial Planning Consultants, both of whom had been affiliated with LPL. (Check out InvestmentNews' Advisers on the Move database to see where advisers are coming and going) The new firm is led by Scott Bordelon, who was previously head of Financial & Investment Management Advisors, and Larry Lock and Steven Hollis, formerly with Universal Financial Planning Consultants. “We wanted a broker-dealer that had demonstrated its willingness to support a super [office of supervisory jurisdiction] branch structure, to help that branch recruit advisers and to work with an independent RIA,” said Mr. Bordelon, who is located in Covington, La. Securities America has around $55 billion in client assets under management. Around $21.4 billion in assets are on its RIA platform, according to InvestmentNews' broker-dealer database. “We wish them well,” said Brett Weinberg, a spokesman for LPL Financial, in an email. A spokesman for Securities America was not immediately available to comment.