A Massachusetts-based team with about $150 million in brokerage, advisory and retirement assets is joining LPL Financial from Cetera, the independent broker/dealer announced this week. The addition of Accardi Financial Group, headed by Chairman Joe Accardi, along with his daughter, CEO Danielle Accardi, and son, President Damon Accardi, is the latest in a number of nine-figure deals out of LPL in the past several weeks.
The firm, which was founded in 1990 and is located in Wilbraham, Mass., left First Allied, part of Cetera’s broker/dealer network. In addition to the three principals, the firm has two support staff members. In a statement about the deal, Joe Accardi said Danielle would be taking the reins of the business after he retires in the next several years.
“It means the world to have a legacy practice, knowing that my son and daughter, and maybe even eventually grandchildren, will continue to serve future generations of clients,” he said.
Accardi Financial Group is the first team to join LPL via Lucia Capital Group’s (LCG) independent advisor affiliation model. LCG is an LPL firm, and Joe Accardi said while Accardi and LCG remain two separate entities, his team can now access LCG’s “full suite of services,” including its retirement planning system, asset management platform and back-office support. LPL acquired Lucia, a San Diego–based b/d and RIA, in August 2020; at the time, the firm had more than $1.5 billion in assets and 20 advisors.
The Accardi addition is the latest in a run of several announcements out of LPL. Last week, Pat Clifford and Tyler Lewis, a Texas-based duo with about $275 million in assets under management, announced they were leaving Wells Fargo to create a new independent practice affiliated with LPL Strategic Wealth Services. Clifford had experience as a senior executive in the oil-and-gas industry before joining the financial services industry 20 years ago, while Lewis joined the team about four years ago, with prior expertise in the insurance and banking industry in addition to his advisory work. The duo were joined by Director of Planning Karen Vaughan and Sherryl Miles, the firm’s director of client relations.
One day before, LPL announced Utah-based advisors Andy Walker and Christian Covey formed a new practice, also via SWS. The duo joined LPL from Commonwealth, where they managed about $350 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement assets. In forming Walker Covey Wealth Advisors in Utah County, the team was joined by Rebecca McEntire, who will act as director of client services.
The week before, father/daughter team John and Jennifer Tarantino joined LPL by aligning with Gladstone Wealth Partners, part of LPL’s hybrid RIA platform. The Florham Park, N.J.–based duo manages about $250 million in assets and joined LPL from Morgan Stanley.
Earlier this month, LPL attracted Lincoln, Neb.–based advisor Hugh Lau, who managed about $750 million in assets, to leave D.A. Davidson to form a new independent practice via SWS. Near the start of the year, LPL also recruited Elite Financial Network, an office of supervisory jurisdiction with about $1 billion in assets, to join its platform from Securities America, an Advisor Group b/d.
