Close Close
Sign In
Newsletters
Popular Financial Topics Discover relevant content from across the suite of ALM legal publications From the Industry More content from ThinkAdvisor and select sponsors Investment Advisor Issue Gallery Read digital editions of Investment Advisor Magazine Tax Facts Get clear, current, and reliable answers to pressing tax questions
Luminaries Awards
Podcast Center Video Center Webcasts Resource Center Events
About ThinkAdvisor Contact Us Advertise With Us Asset & Logo Licensing Sitemap Terms of Service Privacy Policy Copyright © 2024 ALM Global, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
ThinkAdvisor
Former LPL CEO Dan Arnold

Industry Spotlight > Broker Dealers

LPL CEO's Firing Catches Some by Surprise

By Melanie Waddell

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

The firing by LPL Financial on Tuesday of its CEO, Dan Arnold, caught many industry watchers by surprise, with some calling the move “unfortunate.”

LPL said Tuesday in a statement that its board of directors terminated Arnold, effective immediately, for violating LPL’s commitment to a respectful workplace.

The nation’s largest independent broker-dealer terminated Arnold “for cause on the recommendation of a special committee of directors in the course of an investigation by an outside law firm, which found he made statements to employees that violated LPL’s Code of Conduct,” the statement said.

Chip Roame, managing director of Tiburon Strategic Advisors, said in an email to ThinkAdvisor Wednesday that he was surprised by the news of Arnold’s firing.

“LPL has done extraordinarily well under Dan’s leadership,” Roame said. “It has been the winner in both the FA recruiting trend and in the IBD consolidation trend.”

Added Roame: “While I do not know Dan well, he has been professional in my interactions with him. Based on news media I read, it does sound like LPL went through an extensive process to evaluate the situation, having set up a board sub-committee and engaged a third-party law firm to assess.”

As to company culture, “there is probably a slightly higher bar for public companies, but culture matters in both public and private firms!” Roame said.

Joe Anthony, president and co-owner of public relations firms Gregory FCA, said in another message to ThinkAdvisor that while he has no “context on what exactly he [Arnold] said or did, [LPL] seemed to take a buttoned up approach about it. Having a continuity plan ready to announce was a good step to cut off any speculation about a leadership vacuum.”

Arnold’s termination “comes across as a fairly tidy management of a significant corporate issue,” Anthony added.

Nick Morgan, founder and president of the Investors Choice Advocates Network, said in another email that LPL’s firing of Arnold could be a way “to forestall an enforcement action.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority “have shown an increasing appetite to bring enforcement actions for what would previously have been considered internal employment and management issues, as in, for example, the SEC’s $35 million settlement with Activision last year,” Morgan said.

“As a result, it would not be surprising to see more broker dealers investigating and terminating senior management as a preemptive attempt to avoid such regulatory scrutiny.”

‘Unfortunate’

Garrett Vanderpool, a cybersecurity expert, said in another post on LinkedIn: “Wow, this is unfortunate. I personally had the privilege of exchanging a few emails with Dan Arnold over the last few years. He has always been kind and super helpful with direction when I had a question. What you do in private matters more than what you do in public. We all have good days and bad days but it’s important we exercise restraint and self control.”

Simon Dude Granner, founder of PCFO, said in another post on LinkedIn: “I didn’t personally know Dan Arnold but I know many LPL advisors that spoke very highly of him. My heart goes out to Dan and his family as well as all the LPL advisors and internal stakeholders that will be affected by this transition.”

Melanie Waddell

@Think_MelanieW

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.