Jeffrey Kleintop has stepped down as chief market strategist at LPL Financial (LPLA) and officially starts a new job at the giant RIA custodian Charles Schwab (SCHW) next week.
“As our new chief global investment strategist, Jeff will help investors make sense of international market trends and events and their implications for investing strategies,” Schwab said in a statement on Monday.
Kleintop left LPL, the biggest independent broker-dealer, in early August. His departure comes on the heels of news that Chief Marketing Officer Joan Khoury is leaving later this month. Earlier this year, Derek Burton retired as head of Independent Advisor Services after the IBD expressed “concerns over his interactions with other employees.”
“The general impression I have is that they need to stem the bad press and the flight of key personnel,” said recruiter and industry expert Jon Henschen in an interview. “This does not bode well.”
The exit of Kleintop and other executives is likely to “affect the morale of the back office, as folks see key personnel leaving,” Henschen adds. “It seems like they’re stuck in a downward spiral, and you have to ask what steps will be taken.”
LPL has not yet named Kleintop’s replacement.
“Part of being an employer of choice is becoming known in our industry for the quality and depth of the talent at our firm,” said Sallie Larsen, managing director and chief human capital officer of LPL Financial, in a statement. “That means, at times, some employees will be targeted by other firms seeking to strengthen their own talent. We understand, too, that from time to time our people will choose other career paths and we always wish them the best.”
Not all industry observers are as pessimistic about LPL as Henshen. “They remain a fabulous firm,” said Houston-based recruiter Rick Peterson, in an interview, pointing to the executive talents of Mark Casady, CEO, and Bill Morrissey, who runs the advisor business.
“It’s very easy to sell brokers on talking to LPL,” he adds.
Still, Peterson says the IBD has lost a couple of key recruiters in recent months, such as Joe Line, who went to Wells Fargo FiNet. “But this is not necessarily an anti-LPL statement,” the recruiter explained. “It’s not a reflection on the firm, and we shouldn’t read a lot into it.”
In late July, LPL Financial said its second-quarter net income fell about 4.4% from a year earlier to $43.09, mostly related to unforeseen regulatory costs.