Independent Financial Partners, a super office of supervisory jurisdiction of LPL Financial, said its application to launch its own broker/dealer, which it submitted in July, has been approved by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
IFP announced its plans to separate from LPL and start its own brokerage last April, and the firm is still on track to officially transition advisors. The firm has been building out its tech stack in preparation.
Chief Operating Officer Chris Hamm recently told WealthManagement.com that the firm expects about 225 to 250 of its 520 existing advisors to move over. IFP is also planning to acquire b/ds, with the help of its new capital partners. One acquisition would add at least 100 advisors; the firm is recruiting just over 30 single advisors from various b/ds, as well as two potential groups of about 30 advisors each.
On an earnings call Thursday afternoon, LPL CEO Dan Arnold said that of the IFP advisors that have made a decision to stay or leave, his firm expects to retain $6 billion of those assets. But one-third of IFP’s advisors haven’t made a decision. The OSJ started with about $12 billion of brokerage and advisory assets, Arnold said.