LPL Adds YCharts to Vendor Program
YCharts' investment research and related tools are now used by more than 5,000 RIAs.
LPL Financial says the YCharts’ platform is now available to its nearly 16,800 affiliated financial advisors through the independent broker-dealer’s Vendor Affinity Program.
“LPL’s size, scale and deep industry relationships give us the ability to provide these solutions to our advisors at a cost savings, and we are looking forward to adding YCharts’ investment platform to our Vendor Affinity Program,” said LPL Chief Investment Officer Burt White, in a statement Thursday.
YCharts’ resources — used be some 5,000 RIAs — aim to help advisors streamline investment research and client communications through the use of templates, stock and fund screeners, portfolio management and charting resources, and compliant reports.
“Today’s investors want more communication from their financial advisors, and they want those engagements to be increasingly personalized,” explained YCharts President & CEO Sean Brown, in a statement.
“Our mission is to provide financial advisors with mobile-friendly, easy-to-use tools, value-add resources and best-of-breed customer support to help them keep their clients happy and grow their business,” Brown added.
LPL launched its Vendor Affinity Program in 2015. At the time, more than 50 vendors offering price discounts of 10%-80% were included.
There are now 73 vendors are in the program. When asked about the current pricing levels, a spokesperson said the IBD secures “a wide range of discounts” for its affiliated advisors.
According to a recent YCharts poll of nearly 320 advisors, 41% of those who moved to outsourced model portfolios in the past year said they were now less confident in those strategies. Also, 22% of advisors using third-party models said they planned to decrease the percentage of assets invested in those models.
In contrast, over half of advisors who build portfolios in-house said they were no more or less confident using their own strategies after the market downturn caused by COVID-19 earlier this year, while 42% said they were even more confident.
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