In light of the firm’s difficulties in recruiting NPH advisors and the dissatisfaction of its own advisors, LPL Financial CEO Dan Arnold admits “we have a problem,” and lays out a plan for change.
The SEC commissioners pushed through a proposal package that would establish a best interest standard for broker/dealers and restrict brokers from using the titles “advisor” or “adviser.”
Merrill Lynch’s turn away from big recruitment packages toward a focus on incentivizing current advisors appears to bear fruit. The number of new households with over $250,000 in assets increased by 60 percent year-over-year, with advisor attrition to competing firms at an all-time low.