LPL Financial says that it has bought the technology firm AdvisoryWorld for $28 million in cash to help its advisors improve their ability to "turn prospects into clients," according to Burt White, managing director, Investor and Investment Solutions, and chief investment officer of the independent broker-dealer.
"The magic of AdvisoryWorld is that it takes advisor workloads — the component pieces of the work done by advisors supporting the client — and … can generate proposals for new accounts, for instance," White said in an interview. "It brings this task and others to life in an integrated way … as we never have."
Technology "is really the secret sauce when it comes to the delivery of a thriving practice and differentiated offering," the LPL executive said.
AdvisoryWorld is used by 30,000 advisors affiliated with LPL and many other broker-dealers for investment analytics, portfolio construction and proposals. The tech firm will continue to sell its tools to the broader wealth industry. "This is an excellent opportunity to serve [advisors] better by leveraging LPL resources," said AdvisoryWorld President and COO Michael Wilson.
