LPL focuses recruiting on wirehouse, regional advisors

LPL Financial reported a net loss of 34 advisors in the first quarter and recruiting asset inflows of $17 billion, a 55% decline from a year earlier. The firm said it will concentrate recruiting on advisors at wirehouse and regional firms as it finishes integrating Commonwealth Financial Network, acquired last August for about $2.7 billion.

LPL reported it is retaining a mid-80s percentage of the roughly $305 billion in client assets acquired from Commonwealth and remains on track to reach a 90% retention target. The company acknowledged that hundreds of Commonwealth advisors have departed for other firms since the acquisition, a factor in the small headcount decline.

Chief Financial Officer Matthew Audette noted some advisor departures reflected routine attrition, where professionals chose not to renew brokerage licenses and left the business. He said those exits typically involve smaller accounts with limited asset impact.

Over the past year LPL recruited about $83 billion in client assets from advisors who moved to the firm. CEO Rich Steinmeier told analysts that as Commonwealth retention improves, LPL is increasing efforts to win advisors from wirehouse and regional firms. He said the firm now captures roughly 11% of advisors “in motion” from that segment, up from about 9% a few years ago. “We’re back and engaged,” Steinmeier added.

Recruiting firms’ data show advisor movement remains active, with annual advisor exits reaching 11,172 in 2025. LPL recruited 2,112 advisors over the past year, more than several direct competitors.

LPL’s broader business results showed growth in the quarter. Total client assets rose 30% year over year to $2.3 trillion, including $1.4 trillion in fee-generating advisory accounts, a 42% increase. Revenue from advisory fees and commissions climbed nearly 40% to $3.8 billion. Payouts to advisors based on revenue production also rose nearly 40% to $3.32 billion. Net income for the quarter was $356.4 million, up about 12% from a year earlier.

Audette said higher compensation costs reflect, in part, Commonwealth advisors’ larger assets under management and higher payout levels. LPL trimmed its expected incremental annual EBITDA from the Commonwealth deal to $410 million from $425 million, citing weaker securities markets in the quarter; Audette said the company would expect the figure to return to $425 million if markets improve.

The firm announced that recruiting head Scott Posner will leave in June and that his responsibilities will be absorbed by an expanded internal team. LPL and affiliate Private Advisor Group are buying Mariner Advisor Network, a unit with 367 advisors and about $31 billion in client assets.

Executives noted the Q1 advisor count dip was small relative to LPL’s more than 32,000 advisors and said external recruiting efforts will increase as Commonwealth integration work winds down.