Independent broker/dealer LPL Financial is expanding its foothold in the retirement plan consulting space, with a new deal to recruit the advisors from San Rafael, Calif.-based Financial Telesis, which has about 400 FAs. Bill Chetney is leaving his role as president of LPL Retirement Partners, the firm’s retirement plan consulting business, to acquire Financial Telesis and form a new advisory firm Global Retirement Partners.
Global Retirement Partners will join LPL as a large hybrid office of supervisory jurisdiction (OSJ). Chetney will serve as CEO, while Financial Telesis founder and CEO Jim Williams will join the OSJ as president. LPL will act as broker/dealer and custodian of the firm's assets.
The OSJ will have access to LPL Retirement Partners’ suite of technology and retirement consulting tools, said Bill Morrissey, managing director of Independent Advisor Services at LPL. That includes its Worksite Financial Solutions platform, designed to help plan sponsors and advisors provide advice and education throughout an employee’s financial life. It also includes Sync Advisor Match, a search program and technology portal to facilitate mutually beneficial partnerships between retirement plan advisors and qualified wealth management advisors.
“I think also the fact that we’re combining the scale of the two organizations is really going to help in terms of presence in the marketplace and working with sponsors,” Morrissey said.
LPL’s retirement plan division was formed when the IBD acquired National Retirement Partners in 2010, which was founded and led by Chetney. He was responsible for integrating the firm into LPL. The division now supports 5,500 advisors with one or more plans, 39,816 retirement plans with 3 million participants and $107.7 billion in assets under administration.
LPL has named David Reich to take over for Chetney as head of LPL Retirement Partners and independent advisor services strategy. Previously, he was serving as executive vice president of retirement platform development.