Boffo recruiting fuels LPL's strong first quarter

On the back of strong recruiting and the ability to attract new clients, LPL Investment Holdings Inc. of Boston has reported net income of $14.8 million for the first three months of this year — an increase of 26.8% over the same period in 2008. However, the Boston-based firm, which oversees the largest network of independent broker-dealers in the country, reported a decline in revenue for the first quarter, with revenue from commissions, advisory fees and other fees and transactions totaling $643 million, a drop of 19.5% when compared with the same period last year. Over the past twelve months, LPL Investment Holdings has continued its strong recruiting. It now has 12,294 reps and advisers affiliated with its various broker-dealers, with LPL Financial being the largest. Across all its firms, it has seen a net increase of 1,053 advisers since the first quarter of 2008. “I’m blown away by the numbers. The recruiting is so robust, even though they’ve cut a portion of the recruiting staff,” said Larry Papike, president of Cross-Search, a recruiting firm in Jamul, Calif. Over the past year, client accounts with LPL have increased as well, growing 11% to almost 3.5 million. The market downturn and lower interest rates hurt revenue, said Robert Moore, LPL’s chief financial officer. “This trend is reinforced in the decline in our assets under management and recurring revenues,” he said in a statement. “We are measuring success in this environment by minimizing short-term instability and positioning the business for long-term growth that will take advantage of a more normalized and stable market environment.” In a separate matter, LPL in its quarterly report said that one of its affiliated broker-dealers, Associated Securities Corp. of El Segundo, Calif., and a formerly affiliated rep were found jointly liable in a March arbitration decision for damages totaling $8.86 million. Associated Securities has filed a motion to vacate the decision, and LPL is fully indemnified by Pacific Life Insurance Co. of Newport Beach, Calif., which formerly owned Associated Securities.