Page 38 - Investment Advisor June 2023

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often relying on local providers who may advisors to try out software like CRM, interested in working with advisors who
not be skilled in working with wealth financial planning and reporting tools. are well positioned to thrive in challeng-
business or may have competing priori- We now see advisors waking up and ing economic situations. That means those
ties. Our goal is to provide high-quality asking themselves if they’re getting the advisors need strong and stable partners
alternatives that take work off advisors’ value out of their third-party technology. to stand behind them and provide con-
plates so that they can focus on what It can be challenging (and costly) to famil- fidence that their clients’ money is safe.
matters to their clients. Early signs are iarize yourself with all of the features and This played out during the recent regional
that this strategy is working. Advisors functionality, or to set up your tech stack bank failures and banking sector volatility.
who use one of our services are growing in a way that works with how work gets LPL was positioned well to instill con-
on average 28% faster than peers. done in your practice. That’s why we’re fidence with advisors and their clients,
piloting new services at LPL focused on given that we are not a bank and have
What industry trend is most affecting the advisor tech stack. We see this as a a strong balance sheet. We also saw
your advisors? way to help advisors unlock more value increased interest in our cash manage-
The past decade has seen a fintech boom from their technology and, ultimately, ment programs, including the expand-
and an influx of software-as-a-service drive more successful wealth businesses. ed FDIC insurance protections offered
companies offering technology servic- through LPL’s multi-bank cash sweep
es to financial advisors. This technol- What are clients most concerned program. When news headlines create
ogy promises to be transformative to about today, and how is lPl uncertainty, we focus on being that trust-
the advisor and client experience. As addressing this concern? ed partner to support advisors when
a result, there has been a big push for In today’s landscape, clients are most their clients need peace of mind.

Advisor Group to Unite 8 Firms Under a New Brand in 2023
Advisor Group recently confirmed that it is shifting its multi-brand the spokesperson went on to add, “While nothing has been
network to a single, rebranded entity. But the firm remained mum finalized, we’ve made no secret of exploring” consolidation
on what that new brand and name will be. the company is out to that would bring the eight firms closer together.
unify the eight wealth management firms that are now part of the “Combining our multiple firms under a single brand will
Advisor Group broker-dealer network into one to “reduce complex- allow us to better serve our financial professionals by offering
ity for financial professionals and position them to take full advan- them access to the full breadth of community and expertise
tage of the scale Advisor Group offers,” it said in a news release. our scale provides without the complexities that multiple
Later this year, Advisor Group “will announce a new name legal entities can impose,” Jamie Price, Advisor Group CEO
and brand for the unified firm that is being reimagined to and president, said in a recent statement.
reflect the history and traditions of Advisor Group and pave “Our current business model has been successful to date,”
the way for a bold new future for the firm,” it explained. the he added, “but as the industry landscape continues to evolve,
firm has turned to Sullivan nYC, a new York-based branding simultaneously maintaining a series of divergent brands no
agency, to “help guide this branding and positioning effort.” longer supports a best-in-class experience for our financial
Each of the eight wealth management firms in the Advisor professionals or their clients.”
Group network will roll out the new brand, “one at a time, Advisor Group “continues to simplify its business structure
over the next 18 to 24 months,” the firm added. the firms through uniform and consistent policies, procedures and
comprising Advisor Group include American Portfolios, technology solutions, in addition to expanding its value-add
FSC Securities Corp., Infinex Investments, Royal Alliance solutions and offerings,” the firm said. It has grown to serve
Associates, SagePoint Financial, Securities America, triad more than 11,000 independent financial professionals across
Advisors and Woodbury Financial Services. its eight separate BDs, it added.
Earlier, an Advisor Group spokesman wrote in an email, “A well-crafted plan has been implemented to ensure a
“As we noted publicly during our ConnectEd Conference last smooth transition of financial professionals’ businesses, with
year and recently discussed with our network of advisors, we an emphasis on eliminating the need for repapering accounts
are considering options to drive greater efficiency and lever- and maintaining relationships and communities that have
age scale to enhance the experience and growth of affiliated been cultivated over time,” the company explained.
financial professionals. “this is not a repapering event,” Price said. “ — Jeff Berman

36 Investment AdvIsor June 2023 | ThinkAdvisor.com