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LPL Financial: The Nation’s Leading Independent Source of Financial Services and Investment Advice
About LPL Financial
LPL Financial was founded with a pioneering vision: to help entrepreneurial financial advisors establish successful businesses through which they could offer truly independent financial guidance and advice. Today we provide an integrated platform of proprietary technology, brokerage, and investment advisory services to over 12,500 financial advisors as the nation’s largest independent broker/dealer,* making us a leading distributor of financial products in the United States. In addition, we support over 4,000 financial advisors with customized clearing, advisory platform, and technology solutions.
Even as our firm has grown over the years, we remain singularly focused on helping financial advisors to manage the complexity of their investment practices so they can better serve their clients in achieving important financial goals. And, because we do not offer proprietary products, LPL Financial enables the independent financial advisors, banks, and credit unions with whom we partner to offer their clients truly objective, conflict-free advice. Our open-architecture platform provides our customers with access to thousands of commission, fee-based, cash, and money market products manufactured by hundreds of third-party product sponsors.
Our customers
For more than 20 years, the LPL Financial Commitment Creed has been central to our culture and reflects our firm’s singular focus on serving the customer. Our 2,700 employees in Boston, Charlotte, and San Diego come to work every day focused on living this commitment.
Though LPL Financial was originally established to serve the independent advisor, today we serve three customer groups:
- Independent Advisor Services supports more than 12,000 independent and registered investment advisors.
- Institution Services supports financial advisors at approximately 670 regional and community banks and credit unions.
- Custom Clearing Services supports approximately 4,000 advisors affiliated and licensed with insurance companies through a unique outsourcing arrangement.
We tailor our programs and services to the diverse needs of our customers, enabling them to remain focused on understanding and meeting their clients’ needs.
* As reported in Financial Planning magazine 1996-2011, based on total revenues.
Corporate Snapshot
Following are highlights of key financial performance metrics for LPL Investment Holdings Inc. For complete financial information, including recent SEC filings, visit the Investor Relations section of LPL.comAs of December 31, 2011
|
Advisory & Brokerage Assets ($ billions) |
$330.3 |
|
Advisory Assets ($ billions) |
$101.6 |
|
Annual Net Revenue ($ millions) |
$3,479.4 |
|
Financial Advisors |
12,847 |
|
Employees |
2,726 |
|
Funded Accounts (millions) |
4.2 |
|
Financial Institution Partners |
Approximately 670 |
|
Excess Net Capital, LPL Financial LLC ($ millions) |
$93.9 |
|
Industry ranking by number of advisors* |
4 |
* Based on publicly disclosed information and announced mergers as of December 31, 2011
History
LPL Financial was formed in 1989 through the merger of two small brokerage firms, Linsco and Private Ledger, both established in 1968. By merging these two companies, the founders of LPL Financial sought to create a trusted alternative to Wall Street firms, one in which financial advisors could build highly competitive businesses while always doing what is right for their clients. Today, we are the largest independent broker/dealer in the country* supporting approximately 16,000 financial professionals.
In 2005, LPL Financial sold a 60% ownership stake to two private equity partners, Hellman & Friedman LLC and Texas Pacific Group, both strongly committed to maintaining the independence of the firm. In November 2010, the parent company of LPL Financial, LPL Investment Holdings Inc., first became publicly traded on NASDAQ under symbol LPLA.
As we continue to grow and look to the future, LPL Financial is committed to remaining a trusted and unbiased resource for our advisors and their clients. The financial services industry, markets, and world are changing fast, while people are living longer and facing more complex financial needs. At the same time, investors are increasingly seeking to partner with advisors who offer unbiased guidance to help them face today’s financial planning challenges. These factors mean that providing Americans with independent investment advice has never been more important than it is today.
Financial advisors and institutions need a partner that can help them meet the evolving needs of their clients. As a market leader, LPL Financial is well positioned to enable our customers to help their clients do just that.
* As reported in Financial Planning magazine 1996-2011, based on total revenues
