LPL to Enter Employee Channel

"To keep up with the demands of the industry and investors, advisors increasingly need to leverage technology to increase efficiency, create scale and offer a digital service experience to meet investors' demands," according to Burt White, managing director and chief investment officer.

"We are uniquely positioned to be able to deploy capital and invest in our advisors' business," White explained in a statement. "And we believe that focusing that investment on technology capabilities and resources can bring a tremendous amount of value to advisors and their clients."

Some areas for increased tech spending include adding capabilities to its advisory platform so advisors can serve clients in more segments of the wealth management market; boosting the service experience of ClientWorks; and adding capabilities and organization to make ClientWorks Connected an "end-to-end solution."

Florida Deal

On Tuesday, LPL said it had struck a deal to buy Allen & Co. of Florida, a broker-dealer and RIA based in Lakeland with some 30 employee advisors and $3 billion of client assets.

"We are excited that Allen & Company has chosen to join the LPL family," said LPL President & CEO Dan Arnold, in a statement. "We are focused on M&A opportunities that align with us strategically, operationally and financially, and Allen & Company is a great fit on all fronts."

The transaction — which LPL says is being done at a price of about seven times Allen & Co.'s expected earnings after it becomes a part of the larger entity — should close by year-end.

— Check out LPL Profits Soar on Strong Recruiting: Q1 Earnings on ThinkAdvisor.