# LPL Financial LPL Financial is a Bank / Wealth / Trust based in Fort Mill, United States. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Bank / Wealth / Trust - **Headquarters:** Fort Mill, United States - **Region:** North America - **Address:** San Diego, CA, United States - **Founded:** 1989 - **Assets under management:** $250B+ (Altss estimate for corporate-level assets based on public revenue and cash-sweep data) - **Website:** lpl.com ## Regulatory record - **CRD number:** 6413 - **SEC file number:** 801-10970 - **Registration status:** Registered - **Reports private funds:** No - **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/6413 ## About LPL Financial Holdings Inc. is an SEC-registered investment adviser in Fort Mill, SC, registered since 1975. The firm manages $819.1 billion in assets, with $818.3 billion on a discretionary basis. It has 41,879 employees and 36,280 investment advisers. ## Sectors - Wealth Management - Financial Services - Private Wealth ## Offices - Boston, MA - Fort Mill, SC ## People - Rich Steinmeier — Chief Executive Officer - Matt Audette — President and Chief Financial Officer ## Questions ### How does LPL Financial differ from a wirehouse like Merrill Lynch? LPL does not employ its financial advisors. Wirehouses like Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley pay advisor salaries or guaranteed draws and maintain strict product-preference lists. LPL's advisors are independent contractors who own their client books and can choose from a broad platform of products without a home-office sales mandate because LPL has no proprietary asset-management arm. ### Who runs the firm's investment and advisory strategy? CEO Rich Steinmeier and President Matt Audette jointly oversee firm strategy as of October 2024. LPL's research and due-diligence team — separate from any sales function — determines which third-party asset managers and strategies appear on the platform, making the team's selections highly consequential for manufacturing-side firms seeking retail distribution. ### Does LPL Financial manage money directly? No. LPL is a brokerage and advisory platform, not an asset manager. It earns recurring fees from technology, custody, clearing, and cash-sweep spreads on client idle cash. The actual investment management is performed by the 23,000 independent advisors on the platform or by third-party asset managers whose products advisors select. ### What is LPL's cash-sweep program and why does it matter? When client cash sits idle in brokerage accounts, LPL sweeps that cash into partner banks and earns a spread between what the bank pays and what the client receives. Regulators and investors scrutinize this revenue stream intensely because it generates significant income for LPL without being a visible line-item cost to advisors or end-clients. ### How does LPL source its advisor base? LPL adds advisors through two main channels: organic recruiting of individual wirehouse breakaways and team lift-outs, and acquisitions of smaller independent broker-dealers and RIA firms. Recent examples include the September 2024 acquisition of The Investment Center and the 2023 purchase of Crown Capital Securities, extending a decade-long consolidation pattern. ### Does LPL have an international presence? LPL's business is entirely US-based across all 50 states, with major operational hubs in San Diego and Fort Mill, South Carolina. The firm does not serve non-US clients or maintain international offices. ### Who regulates LPL Financial? FINRA regulates LPL's broker-dealer operations, and the SEC oversees its registered investment advisor platform. The firm must also comply with state securities regulators and banking rules tied to its cash-sweep partner relationships. ## Related profiles - [Chemical and Mining Co of Chile](https://altss.com/profile/chemical-and-mining-co-of-chile-inc) - [F5](https://altss.com/profile/f5-inc) --- Last updated: 2026-07-06T00:35:27.523Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/lpl-financial-holdings-inc Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology