LPL Shifts 1,700 Reps Onto Its Own Clearing Platform

LPL Financial announced July 15 that it was moving the 1,700 representatives from Mutual Service Corp., Associated Securities, and Waterstone Financial Group from the Pershing clearing platform onto LPL's own platform. Bill Dwyer, president, national sales and marketing for LPL Financial, the largest independent broker/dealer, said the move came as the final piece in the firm's strategic review for 2009. That review has included moves to "streamline our operations, remove complexity, and eliminate duplicative efforts," Dwyer said. The decision to integrate the three B/Ds was occasioned, he said, by visits of many reps to LPL's San Diego home office–representing about 40% of the production of those B/Ds–who came to see the benefits of LPL's scale, and led LPL management to ask "Why not put these firms together? We can afford to make a substantial investment on the platform," as Dwyer recalls the discussion, and "we won't be supporting multiple platforms."

However, Dwyer was quick to express respect for Pershing, saying "we've always had a great relationship" with the clearing firm, pointed out that another relatively recent broker/dealer acquisition of LPL's, Uvest Financial, will continue to clear through Pershing, and that "roughly 65% of the client accounts that we have will remain at Pershing."