Beginning in the second half of the year, LPL Financial will implement its new ETF transaction charges, the firm announced today. Charges will drop from $9.00 to $4.95 for State Street, Invesco and WisdomTree funds, with LPL pushing for similar deals with other sponsors. The changes, for those particular partners agreeing to the lower fee, will apply to all Strategic Asset Management (SAM) and Strategic Wealth Management (SWM) platforms, according to the firm.
Advertised as revenue-neutral for LPL, the new pricing is one of several changes for RIAs working with the organization. Last month the firm outlined plans to provide entreprenuerial support to advisors leaving wirehouse and regional firms, from guidance in hiring the right staff to locating optimal office space. The firm also seems to be paying more attention to technology for its advisors, capped by the $28 million cash acquisition of AdvisoryWorld in late 2018.
“We are committed to helping our advisors thrive in today’s complex and challenging business environment," said Rob Pettman, the firm's EVP for products and platforms. "The firm remains committed to leveraging our scale to invest in advisors’ businesses with price reductions and new capabilities. ETFs are another step in the journey to expand our breadth of solutions and help advisors remain competitive in the marketplace.”