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LPL Financial

Independent broker-dealer·LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA), the largest independent broker-dealer in the United States by advisor count

LPL Financial is a publicly traded independent broker-dealer and RIA custodian that served 32,475 advisors as of June 30, 2026. An advisor can affiliate as an independent contractor under LPL's corporate RIA or their own, as a supported-independence practice through Strategic Wealth, or as a W-2 employee through Linsco, and LPL recruited $25 billion of assets in the second quarter of 2026 alone.

32,475
Advisors, Jun 30 2026
[1]
$2.56T
Client assets
[1]
1,100
Joined, H1 2026
[2]
+482
Net, H1 2026
[2]

Facts last reviewed Sep 10, 2026. Every figure on this page carries a numbered source.

01 · Destination profile

What LPL Financial is

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA), the largest independent broker-dealer in the United States by advisor count

  • LPL Financial Holdings Inc. is a public company listed on NASDAQ under LPLA; its annual report on Form 10-K for 2025 is filed with the SEC.[3]
  • As of June 30, 2026 LPL reported 32,475 advisors and total client assets of $2.56 trillion, with advisory assets at 60.4 percent of the total.[1]
  • LPL closed its $2.7 billion acquisition of Commonwealth Financial Network on August 1, 2025, and in July 2026 said the platform conversion is on track for the fourth quarter of 2026 with expected asset retention of approximately 90 percent.[4]

02 · Destination profile

How an advisor affiliates

The channels, in the firm's own terms.

Independent advisor

1099, own practice

LPL describes independent affiliation as running your own business with LPL as broker-dealer and, at the advisor's choice, either LPL's corporate RIA or the advisor's own RIA with LPL as custodian.[5]

Strategic Wealth Services

1099, supported independence

LPL calls Strategic Wealth a supported-independence solution for advisors who want a full-service experience while owning their business.[6]

Linsco by LPL Financial

W-2 employee

LPL describes Linsco as an employee (W-2) affiliation model that embraces the spirit of independence without the responsibilities of running a stand-alone business.[7]

Institution services

Bank and credit union programs

LPL lists institution programs among its affiliation models alongside independent practices and employee channels.[8]

03 · Destination profile

The economics, as publicly reported

Published ranges and filings, not an offer. What a specific practice is offered is a question for the room.

  • LPL's Form 10-K puts independent-channel payouts at 80 to 100 percent of revenue, against 30 to 50 percent in captive channels.[9]
  • LPL's balance of forgivable recruiting loans rose just over 70 percent year over year to $3.3 billion at the end of 2025, with total recruiting loans of $3.68 billion; the same reporting put typical independent broker-dealer deals at roughly 125 percent of an advisor's prior-year revenue.[10]
  • Recruited assets were $25 billion in the second quarter of 2026, up 35 percent from a year earlier, and $89 billion over the trailing twelve months; organic net new assets were $23 billion, a 4 percent annualized growth rate.[1]

04 · Destination profile

Protocol for Broker Recruiting

Membership per the official J.S. Held list, with the joinder qualifications that matter on the day you resign.

LPL Financial Corporation has been a Protocol for Broker Recruiting member since September 4, 2008, with joinder qualifications added in 2010 and 2019; LPL Enterprise, LLC joined on November 15, 2024, also with qualifications. The qualifications are listed in J.S. Held's master list and are worth reading before a move.[11]

What the Protocol does and does not protect: the explainer.

05 · Advisor movement

Who actually moved, from registration records

The only judgment on this page, and it is a count. Producing advisors, first half of 2026.

1,100
Joined
618
Departed
+482
Net
PeriodJoinedDepartedNetDirect breakaways
H1 2026, producing advisors1,100618+48264[2]

Reported teams that joined in 2026

From trade-press reporting tracked daily; each row links its source. Not every move is reported.

  • Jun 18, 2026Daniel Zacharias from UBS · $250MInvestmentNews
  • Jun 2, 2026Smith Complete Wealth (Les Smith — Spring Hill, TN) from Edward Jones · $185MGoogle News — Edward Jones advisor moves
  • May 7, 2026Paxara Wealth Partners (Thornhill, Rathbun, Rathbun, Kolad, Castle, Aycock — Winter Haven, FL) from UBS · $330MGoogle News — UBS advisor moves
  • May 2026Emerald Wealth Management (Trautmann, Foor, Hill — Seattle, WA) from Northwestern Mutual · $815MInvestmentNews
  • Apr 2026Trey Pope (Huntsville, AL) from Edward Jones · $160M
  • Mar 2026Carnegie Private Wealth (Decker, Lewis, Miller, Larsen) from Edward Jones · $475M
  • Sept 2025Worley Monroe Advisors (Worley, Monroe) from Edward Jones · $400M
  • Sep 2025Tennant Financial (Tennant, Berry, Wade — Ballston Lake, NY) from Northwestern Mutual · $1.3BInvestmentNews
  • Nov 2024Happier Wealth (Beck, Macfarlane, Vongsawad, Rosen — Pleasant Grove, UT) from Northwestern Mutual · $250MInvestmentNews
  • 2024Scott Dudley & David McQuade (San Diego, CA) from Northwestern Mutual · $200MFinancial Planning

06 · Destination profile

Who tends to move there

The pattern in the record. A pattern, not a recommendation.

The registration record for the first half of 2026 shows LPL taking in more producing advisors than any other firm, from every channel: wirehouse teams, regional employee advisors, independent broker-dealer reps whose firms were sold, and advisors leaving Edward Jones, where LPL was one of the three most common destinations. The practices that move there tend to want the payout and ownership of the independent channel without building a firm from scratch, and the size of the platform is the point for them rather than a concern. The 618 departures in the same period are the other half of the same fact: a platform this large is also the one advisors most often leave for a smaller one or for their own RIA.

07 · Destination profile

The twelve diligence questions, applied

The list from how to choose a platform, answered where the public record answers and left as the question where it does not.

7 of 12

questions about LPL Financial are not answered anywhere public. They are answered in the room, for a specific practice, and the answers move the number more than anything above.

01What are the actual terms of the custody agreement, at my asset mix?
Asked in the room
02What is the cash sweep arrangement, and who keeps the spread?
Asked in the room
03What is the all-in cost, in basis points and in dollars, at my revenue and asset mix?
The published starting point is the payout: 80 to 100 percent of revenue in the independent channel per LPL's 10-K. The all-in figure at a specific asset mix is not public.[9]
04What is bundled, and what is charged separately?
Asked in the room
05What moves the number over time?
Asked in the room
06Who owns the client data, contractually, and in what form do I get it if I leave?
Asked in the room
07Who holds the technology contracts?
Asked in the room
08Whose ADV is it?
In the independent channel the advisor chooses between LPL's corporate RIA and their own RIA with LPL as custodian; Linsco advisors operate as LPL employees.[5]
09What happens if the platform is sold?
LPL has been the acquirer, not the acquired: it bought Commonwealth for $2.7 billion in 2025 and is converting those advisors to its platform in late 2026. The question for an LPL advisor is what LPL buys next and what that does to pricing and service.[4]
10Who owns the platform, and what is their exit horizon?
Public shareholders, through LPL Financial Holdings Inc. on NASDAQ. There is no exit horizon in the private-equity sense; there are quarterly earnings.[3]
11How do I leave, and what does it cost?
Asked in the room
12What do I take with me?
LPL is a Protocol member with joinder qualifications, so client information moves under the Protocol between member firms subject to those qualifications; any unforgiven note balance is a separate matter governed by the promissory note.[11]

08 · Destination profile

Questions advisors ask about LPL Financial

How many advisors does LPL Financial have?
LPL reported 32,475 advisors as of June 30, 2026, with total client assets of $2.56 trillion, per its second-quarter 2026 results filed with the SEC.
Does LPL pay transition money to advisors who join?
Yes. LPL's forgivable recruiting loan balance was $3.3 billion at the end of 2025, up just over 70 percent in a year, per Financial Planning's reporting on recruiting loans. The same reporting put typical independent broker-dealer deals near 125 percent of an advisor's prior-year revenue. What a specific practice is offered depends on its revenue, assets and mix, and is a diligence question rather than a published number.
Is LPL Financial in the Broker Protocol?
Yes, with qualifications. LPL Financial Corporation has been a member since September 4, 2008 and LPL Enterprise, LLC since November 15, 2024, both with joinder qualifications listed in J.S. Held's master list dated September 8, 2026.
Can I keep my own RIA at LPL?
Yes. LPL's independent affiliation lets an advisor use LPL's corporate RIA or their own RIA with LPL as custodian; Strategic Wealth is the supported-independence version and Linsco is the W-2 employee version.
Where did LPL's advisors come from in 2026?
In the first half of 2026 LPL took in 1,100 producing advisors and lost 618, a net of plus 482, the largest inflow of any firm in Winthrop & Co.'s registration-based ledger; 64 of the joins were direct breakaways.
Is LPL a good firm for a financial advisor?
That depends on the practice, not the firm. The public record shows the highest payout tier in the industry's independent channel, the largest recruiting inflow in the first half of 2026, an acquisition in the middle of conversion, and 618 departures in the same period. Which of those facts matters most is a question about your book, your clients and what you want to own.

Sources

11 numbered sources behind this page
  1. [1] LPL Financial Announces Second Quarter 2026 Results (Form 8-K exhibit), SEC EDGAR, Jul 30, 2026.
  2. [2] The State of Advisor Movement, H1 2026 (Winthrop & Co. with FINTRX; BrokerCheck registrations), Winthrop & Co., Jul 23, 2026.
  3. [3] LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, SEC EDGAR, Sep 10, 2026.
  4. [4] LPL Financial Closes Its Acquisition of Commonwealth Financial Network, GlobeNewswire, Aug 1, 2025.
  5. [5] LPL Financial, Independent Financial Advisor Affiliation Opportunities, LPL Financial, Sep 10, 2026.
  6. [6] LPL Financial, Strategic Wealth Services Advisor Affiliation Model, LPL Financial, Sep 10, 2026.
  7. [7] LPL Financial, Employee Advisor Affiliation Model, LPL Financial, Sep 10, 2026.
  8. [8] LPL Financial, Financial Advisor Business Models and Affiliations, LPL Financial, Sep 10, 2026.
  9. [9] LPL Financial Holdings Inc., Form 10-K (payout structure by channel), SEC EDGAR, Sep 10, 2026.
  10. [10] Recruiting loans reveal headcount winners, and more, Financial Planning, May 19, 2026.
  11. [11] The Broker Protocol Member Firms list, dated September 8, 2026, J.S. Held, Sep 8, 2026.

Winthrop & Co. is compensated by firms when an advisor joins through us. The advisor never pays. We have working relationships with several of the firms profiled here, which is why every figure on these pages carries its source and why we do not rank firms. The right firm is a question about your practice, not a league table.

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