Jon Henschen Tag

Casady Leaving LPL at ‘Challenging Time,’ Recruiters Say

December 5, 2016

By Janet Levaux, ThinkAdvisor

The independent broker-dealer says President Dan Arnold will take over in 2017

LPL Financial’s Mark Casady will step down as CEO on Jan. 3, 2017, the firm said Monday.

Casady, 56, who has run the Boston-based independent broker-dealer for 10 years, will stay on as non-executive chairman through March 3.

President Dan Arnold will take over as CEO. Arnold has served as LPL’s president since March 2015, having joined the firm in 2007.

“The board extends its deep appreciation to Mark for his outstanding leadership and careful stewardship of the LPL mission over the past 14 years, and we wish him the very best in his retirement,” said Jim Putnam,

DOL Rule Could Force Broker Moves

November 30, 2016

By Dan Jamieson, Financial Advisor

Many advisors who will be unable to sell commissioned investments in IRAs after the DOL rule goes into effect are being forced to shop for new homes.

Firms and recruiters are seeing an uptick in the number of inquiries by reps looking for firms that will accommodate commission business. Some firms appear to be waiting to see if the rule survives, but that’s a big risk, observers said, because advisors can’t be stuck come April, when the rule is set to go into effect, with no way to do business.

The best-interest contract exemption, or BICE, allows brokers to sell commissioned investments to IRA owners.

“We have never had so many live recruits,” echoed Steve Distante,

FINRA Sweeps Broker-Dealers’ Cross-Selling Practices

October 28, 2016

By Melanie Waddell, ThinkAdvisor

FINRA focused on nature, scope of BDs’ cross-selling activities and whether they are adequately supervised

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has launched a review of broker-dealers’ cross-selling programs, and is probing BDs on a laundry list of questions, including whether they’ve opened accounts for clients without their consent.

FINRA said in a statement that the self-regulator “often undertakes targeted reviews in areas of regulatory interest. In light of recent issues related to cross-selling, FINRA is focused on the nature and scope of broker-dealers’ cross-selling activities and whether they are adequately supervising these activities by their registered employees to protect investors.”

The self-regulator’s probe comes on the heels of the Wells Fargo fake accounts scandal,