Helpdesk Specialist

Commonwealth sale has spurred over 500 advisor departures, 16 new RIAs. (L-R) Steven and Scott Schlegel, along with Brent Dunn, left Commonwealth in October to launch SchlegelDunn as an independent RIA. LPL Financial's purchase of Commonwealth Financial Network is reshaping the independent landscape as former Commonwealth advisors have opened at least 16 new RIAs and more than 500 have decamped to other firms since March. Around 520 individual advisors have left Commonwealth between April and November, excluding those in junior and support positions, according to a review of registration records maintained by advisor database Fintrx, LinkedIn profiles and company websites. Those departures would represent almost 18% of the 2,900 advisors that LPL said worked at Commonwealth when the deal was announced. It is not clear what portion the brokers represent of the $305 billion in assets under management at Commonwealth, although several billion-dollar teams are included in the departure tally. Despite the attrition, LPL executives as of October maintained a 90% retention target. That month, LPL CEO Richard Steinmeier said the San Diego-based broker-dealer had already received commitments from Commonwealth advisors representing 80% of firm assets. On Tuesday, he acknowledged that convincing Commonwealth advisors to stay has taken more time and effort than anticipated. LPL expects to have all committed assets transitioned by late 2026. An LPL spokesperson declined to comment on the figures and referred to executives' remarks in the October earnings call regarding retention. Industry headhunters and rival firms have targeted Commonwealth brokers and sought to contrast its small-firm service model and culture with LPL, the largest broker-dealer in the country. "LPL clearly sees the alignment with acquiring Commonwealth," said Julian Baneux, CEO of RIA Catalyst, which advises firms looking to acquire RIAs. "But you will see continual friction between a larger institution that has a certain culture they embody and an acquisition target where the top producers may not be getting that same cultural alignment that they believe to be there." Despite its size, Raymond James Financial, which has almost 9,000 brokers, has been one of the primary beneficiaries of LPL's losses and recruited 123 former Commonwealth brokers and advisors. Another 77 Commonwealth brokers joined the independent contractor channel of a smaller firm, Austin, Texas-based Kestra Financial, which has around 1,300 registered individuals. Fairfield, Iowa-based independent broker-dealer Cambridge Investment Research attracted another 40 from Commonwealth, including five who joined through an affiliated RIA. Summit Wealth Group, Cetera, Farther and Osaic have each recruited around two dozen Commonwealth advisors over the same period. RIA Merit Financial Advisors has scooped up 14. Arkadios Wealth Advisors, &Partners and Savvy have added eight each, and seven others joined both Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors and Equitable Advisors. Departures ramped up this summer and peaked in October when more than 120 Commonwealth advisors exited, according to a review of Fintrx data. The number of exits dropped slightly in November. The advisors who established newly independent RIAs have all left Commonwealth since early June, and at least six firms have transitioned a combined $2.4 billion in client assets, according to a review of Form ADV filings. Most chose to custody with Fidelity's National Financial Services, Altruist, Schwab Advisor Services or Raymond James. Steven T. Schlegel, who left Commonwealth in October to launch SchlegelDunn in Plano, Texas, with his twin brother and another advisor, said he had "no hard feelings" about his former firm's decision to sell but said it put them at a crossroads. "We had a terrific relationship with Commonwealth," he said. "But once they announced that they were selling to LPL...it kind of forced us to realize that, one way or another, things were going to change." Schlegel, whose team managed around $265 million, chose Raymond James as their custodian. He said the decision to strike out on their own ultimately came down to cost and the ability to cut expenses by about 70% compared to what the portion of revenue they were paying for services at Commonwealth. "That was our incentive to go ahead and do the work to disrupt," Schlegel said. Baneux noted that the advisors who have left are fighting a tide of industry consolidation that has only ramped up as M&A has surged among independent RIAs. About a quarter of advisors are registered with one of five large firms, including Merrill Lynch, Edward Jones, Morgan Stanley, Fidelity and LPL, he said. "That's an insane consolidation," Baneux said. "As they move away from the bureaucracy of these larger institutions and the lack of autonomy and control and, frankly, toward better payouts... you will see a lot of advisors choosing to go to a large RIA or starting their own firm."

Merit lures RIA, retirement execs from Commonwealth, Osaic. Alex Hansen (L) and Brian Brashaw have joined Merit from Commonwealth and Osaic. Atlanta-based Merit Financial Advisors has hired executives from Commonwealth Financial Network and Osaic, according to an announcement In Boston, Alex Hansen is joining Merit from Commonwealth to fill the new role of chief advisor success officer. He will act as a liaison between the firm's leadership and Merit's approximately 150 registered advisors to connect them with "resources, technology and support" to help them grow, according to the announcement. "Advisors are very busy people," Hansen said in an interview. "Sometimes the ability of the mothership, for lack of better phrasing, to communicate all the things that are available is difficult." At Commonwealth, Hansen had been senior vice president of RIA solutions. He previously worked as a compliance officer for Dynasty Financial Partners, Citigroup and Raymond James Financial between 2011 and 2021. Merit President Kay Lynn Mayhue said in a statement that the role is a "key piece" of the firm's overall growth plan. In Omaha, Nebraska, Brian Brashaw has joined Merit to lead the retirement business as its first vice president of employer plan solutions. Most recently, Brashaw led a retirement plan business at Osaic that oversaw around $80 billion in plan assets. Brashaw said in an interview that he will be focused on "centralizing and institutionalizing" Merit's retirement plan business for advisors who have the opportunity to work with those clients or those looking to that area. Nationwide, the number of 401(k) plans is expected to climb by 40% by 2030 due to state mandates and the Secure Act 2.0, according to the announcement, which cited statistics from Cerulli Associates. "This is a growing area of need for our clients," Merit CEO Rick Kent said in a statement. "This will also allow Merit to expand our business owner planning opportunities from benefits to executive comp to succession." Merit oversees almost $21 billion in assets, including $15.8 billion in advisory, $2.65 billion in brokerage and $2.3 billion in retirement assets. The firm has completed 12 deals over the last 11 months, adding more than $5.8 billion in assets and a variety of practices with niche expertise. The RIA has been minority backed by Constellation Wealth Capital, a serial RIA investor launched by industry veteran and former Emigrant Partners CEO Karl Heckenberg last year, since July.

LPL Financial closes its acquisition of Commonwealth Financial Network.