LPL Financial CEO Dan Arnold speaks at the firm's national conference in 2016.
A week after LPL Financial said it would add an employee advisor channel to its operations, the independent broker-dealer said it is cutting the transaction costs of some ETFs on its RIA platforms to $4.95 from $9 later this year.
"With Fidelity and Schwab at $4.95, and TD Ameritrade at $6.95 … , LPL is basically saying, 'Hey, you are an RIA, come and custody with us … ," said recruiter Jon Henschen. "This can be seen an another option for RIAs looking for similar pricing."
The move also illustrates how LPL "is making a larger net to capture assets" from areas that it has not fully tapped, Henschen adds, such as adding wirehouse advisors with its employee model and now more RIA assets. "Pricing is a good way to do this, and $4.95 is attractive," he said.
Along with Fidelity and Schwab, TD Ameritrade Institutional gives RIAs and investors access to a large number of commission-free ETFs.
In June, the number of TD Ameritrade Institutional's commission-free ETFs will nearly double, jumping to 569 exchange-traded funds from 314; the funds will come from 21 providers and cover about 90 Morningstar categories.
