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May 22, 2019 at 03:59 PM
LPL Financial CEO Dan Arnold speaks at the firm’s national conference in 2016.
LPL Financial said Wednesday that it is adding an employee model and boosting what it will spend on technology this year to $150 million to accommodate this and other developments.
The aim of the effort is “to create a new unique employee model for independent-minded advisors who do not want to manage every aspect of a business,” according to an investor presentation made by CEO & President Dan Arnold.
The independent broker-dealer sees this strategy and its related IT moves as a good way to “attract advisors who have more than a 75% mix of advisory business.”
According to LPL, traditional employee advisors work with about $11 trillion in client assets, while advisory-oriented independent models encompass $5 trillion and traditional independent models $3 trillion.
LPL’s new 2019 tech budget is up from the estimated $135 million figure it shared several months ago. It represents a 25% increase over last year’s tech budget of $120 million — ahead of the 20% compound annual growth rate the firm says it has been on since 2015, when it had a $60 million tech budget.
“To keep up with the demands of the industry and investors, advisors increasingly need to leverage technology to increase efficiency, create scale and offer a digital service experience to meet investors’ demands,” according to Burt White, managing director and chief investment officer.
