Lori Hardwick Leaving COO Position at Pershing

Among those issues she was addressing at Pershing was delivering "more value than they expect" from the clearing and custody firm, helped by what she called a "major cultural shift to integrate third-party providers" to Pershing clients on its NetX360 platform, though she was quick to add "not just in technology."

Perhaps the biggest issue was dealing with the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule, Hardwick said, which she called a "kick in the pants" to the industry, forcing advisors and their broker-dealer partners to more clearly define the value they offer clients. In the interview she lauded Pershing's efforts to help advisors and broker-dealers adapt to the DOL rule, saying Pershing has "built by far the most comprehensive, end-to-end DOL solution" in the industry.

She noted the continuing consolidation in the broker-dealer space — "500 broker-dealers have gone away in the last five years" — but also argued that the "entire industry is at an inflection point on fees," and as they "compress, something's got to give."

Hardwick was named to Investment Advisor's IA 25 list of the most influential people in the industry in 2016, in which we called her "Pershing's Advisor Advocate."

In an interview for the May 2016 issue, she said that with the industry "changing so fast and having so many different constituents across the advisor landscape," she said, it's important for leaders to understand that "every client's important," and that their role is to help each client build "their own practice their own way." 

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