Financial Solutions Group, a Louisiana-based registered investment advisory firm with about $1 billion in brokerage and advisory assets, is joining forces with LPL Financial in one of the independent broker/dealer’s biggest acquisitions of the year. Financial Solutions is joining LPL from FSC Securities, according to LPL.
Financial Solutions began in 1978 with advisor Greg O’Quin, and the firm eventually expanded to 10 advisors in total (including O’Quin’s sons Patrick and Philip). The company focuses on investment advice and financial planning, and its clientele primarily consists of retirees and pre-retirees. According to Michael Young, an advisor with the firm, the decision to partner with LPL stemmed from a desire to find an integrated technology platform that would enhance their work with clients; Young claimed LPL’s ClientWorks advisor services platform was what they were seeking.
“We can move easily from eSignature to opening a new account, with the ability to open multiple accounts at once, all within one platform,” he said. “Between the size of the organization and the expertise of the skilled team members at LPL, we are confident that our business will thrive with this new partnership.”
The partnership is the latest deal by LPL Financial, which has been tenaciously adding RIA firms throughout the year. The rush has come in the wake of LPL’s newly burnished tech reputation with its advisors, who have been singing the praises of the firm’s technology, replacing earlier frustration and concerns. Just last week, LPL recruited SecondHalf Coach Wealth Management, a Pennsylvania firm with approximately $250 million in assets under management (AUM). In September, LPL was just as busy; the b/d added a Las Vegas-based firm with $300 million in assets and a Virginia firm with $150 million in AUM from Ameriprise, as well as a New Jersey-based independent advisor with $150 million in AUM; like Financial Solutions, the advisor also transitioned from FSC Securities.
According to Rich Steinmeier, LPL’s managing director and divisional president, the firm was looking forward to helping Financial Solutions continue to grow its practice.
“Independent advisors are looking for quality, and we are able to provide them with innovative technology, robust resources, capital to help them grow and a stable firm committed to supporting advisors,” he said.
