LPL Cuts Prices, Account Minimums Ahead of DOL Fiduciary Rule

In addition, LPL says it intends to lower the account minimum in its Optimum Market Portfolios from $15,000 to $10,000 later this year. It eliminated the IRA maintenance fee for these portfolios in early 2016.

The firm says it expects the new fiduciary standard to result in additional operational requirements for its IRA business. As a result, LPL says it plans “to create a simplified mutual fund-only brokerage IRA offering to support the continued use of mutual funds in a brokerage relationship as an option for IRA business.”

Furthermore, the new offering – which should let LPL support mutual funds previously held directly with manufacturers – is not likely to have an annual IRA maintenance fee.

To support these and other changes, LPL says it is enhancing its practice management support, which in the future will include licensing assistance and business analysis.

In terms of operating efficiency, the company expects to simplify certain processes. For instance, it intends to keep account numbers unchanged when these accounts are transitioned from brokerage to advisory accounts.

“While much uncertainty remains as to what the final DOL rule will look like, LPL is taking a proactive approach by making changes to our platform and capabilities that we believe will help advisors grow their practices and support more investors in need of financial advice,” added Arnold. “We are proud to use our size and scale as a market leader to further strengthen the transparency and value LPL provides to investors and the advisors who serve them.”

— Check out DOL Rule Will Mean Cheaper Annuities, More Robo-Advice: Cerulli on ThinkAdvisor.