Description
LPL Financial was founded in 1989 and is considered the largest independent broker-dealer in the United States. As of 2021 the company had more than 17,500 financial advisors, over US$1 trillion in advisory & brokerage assets, and generated approximately $5.9 billion in annual revenue for the 2020 fiscal year.
LPL Financial was formed in 1989 through the merger of two brokerage firms—Linsco (established in 1968) and Private Ledger (established in 1973)—and has since expanded its number of independent financial advisors both organically and through acquisitions. LPL Financial has main offices in Boston, Fort Mill, Austin, and San Diego. The company is a member of FINRA and the SIPC.
LPL Financial joined the Fortune 500 list at number 466 in 2021.
LPL's subsidiaries are LPL Financial LLC, LPL Insurance Associates, Inc., Fortigent, LLC, and The Private Trust Company, N.A.
Acquisitions
On December 3, 2018, LPL Financial Holdings Inc. reported its acquisition of AdvisoryWorld, a technology company and leading provider of digital solutions serving the wealth management industry. LPL Financial advisors will gain access to the solutions from AdvisoryWorld at no cost, and AdvisoryWorld products will still be available for purchase as a stand-alone product. AdvisoryWorld offers a suite of tools designed to help advisors attract and retain more assets, turning prospects into clients while servicing existing clients with advanced analytics and modeling. Founded in 1987, the company's products include proposal generation, portfolio and investment analytics and portfolio modeling capabilities.
On August 18, 2020, LPL Financial Holdings Inc. reported its purchase of E.K. Riley Investments, LLC, a broker-dealer and registered investment advisor (RIA) based in Seattle. E.K. Riley served more than $2 billion of client assets and expected approximately 90% of its advisors to join LPL. LPL continues to anticipate a transaction multiple of ~6x post-synergy EBITDA.
On August 20, 2020, LPL Financial Holdings Inc. reported it has completed its purchase of the properties of San Diego-based Lucia Securities, a broker-dealer and registered investment advisor (RIA). The deal was arranged as an acquisition of properties, which completed on 18 August 2020. LPL is starting to expect a maximum ~6x EBITDA post-synergy deal.
On October 27, 2020, LPL Financial Holdings Inc. announced its acquisition of Blaze Portfolio, a Chicago-based fintech firm founded in 2010. LPL will continue to offer Blaze Portfolio's services as a stand-alone product, as well as bringing the trading capabilities to all LPL Financial advisors. The transaction was signed and closed on Oct. 26, 2020. LPL Financial paid approximately $12 million and agreed to a potential contingent payment of up to $5 million subject to milestones and customary purchase price adjustments.
