LPL Grabs TD Ameritrade Exec to Lead Trading
Ben Welch comes on board less than a month after Charles Schwab wrapped up its $22 billion purchase of the former rival.
LPL Financial has hired Ben Welch, the former head of trading and technology at TD Ameritrade Institutional, to lead its trading operations.
Welch, who was with TD Ameritrade for 18 years, will be report to Dayton Semerjian, LPL’s chief customer care officer and managing director of Service, Trading and Operations.
The news comes less than a month after Charles Schwab wrapped up its $22 billion purchase of TD Ameritrade.
“Ben is a proven leader with a deep background in financial technology, product management, process optimization and leading complex trading initiatives at scale,” Semerjian said in a statement.
Welch, a chartered financial analyst, spent the past years leading Institutional Trading and Technology Services for TD Ameritrade. Earlier he was head of product management and the iRebal tool, as well as a senior manager of product management.
“As an ardent believer in the impact of quality financial advice on people’s lives, I’m thrilled to join an organization that is singularly focused on helping advisors work to provide confidence to their clients,” Welch said.
LPL Financial has 17,168 affiliated independent advisors as of Sept. 30, working with $810 billion of client assets.
— Check out Schwab’s Bettinger: More Job Cuts Ahead on ThinkAdvisor.