Just a few weeks after announcing plans to launch its robo-advisor offering this summer, LPL Financial (LPLA) said Tuesday that it is expanding services to advisors with high-net-worth clients and prospects.
For instance, the firms says, it is rolling out a Private Client Curriculum Series to help reps and institutions "market to, win and retain HNW individuals and institutional clients."
LPL shared the news at its seventh-annual Private Wealth Symposium, which is taking place this week in Dana Point, California, and includes about 180 advisors. The keynote speaker Tuesday was Mike Huckabee, the former presidential candidate and Arkansas governor.
Asked if LPL has the financial and organizational capacity to span the breadth of offerings – from robo to HNW – Matt Enyedi, executive vice president of RIA and high-net-worth solutions, says no other plan really makes sense.
"We are trying to serve the broadest set of clients in rapidly changing marketplace to best help our advisors … not only survive but thrive," the executive stated in an interview with ThinkAdvisor.
"We are building a model to transcend the different advisor and investor types The independent advisor landscape is the landing spot for HNW investors, who are looking for an unbiased, objective firm for advice. LPL can do this for them," explained Enyedi.
While five years ago, there may have been a credibility gap between the independent firms and the wirehouses, "That [gap] no longer exists today," he added. "In fact, with Fortigent, we would argue that our technology has surpassed the old [wirehouse] model."
His colleague Gary Carrai, senior vice president of high-net-worth solutions, couldn't agree more.
"High-net-worth business is being won by independent advisors," Carrai explained. "They are just winning. All the statistical research we see reflects and shows that this trend is set to continue. The landscape has changed – high net worth is shifting from the wirehouse."