LPL Financial and Retirement Benefits Group™ Announce Addition of Five Top Retirement Consultants to Retirement Benefits Group™ Platform

SAN DIEGO, May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- LPL Financial LLC, the nation's largest independent broker-dealer* and a wholly-owned subsidiary of LPL Investment Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA), and Retirement Benefits Group™ ("RBG"), a highly specialized retirement plan consulting firm based in San Diego, CA, today announced the continued expansion of Retirement Benefits Group through the addition of five top retirement plan consultants to the firm.  The five advisors - Matthew Haerr, Christine Soscia, Amir Arbabi, Peter Littlejohn, and William Brown - will provide retirement guidance to institutional clients in the areas of plan design assistance, compliance updates, and investment due diligence, as well as participant communication and education.  These new advisor additions will be based out of the San Diego, CA, Akron, OH, Las Vegas, NV, and Idaho Falls, ID offices of Retirement Benefits Group.

Retirement Benefits Group is supported by the Retirement Partners division of LPL Financial LLC, which is focused on supporting retirement plan-focused advisors.

Darrell Alford, Principal of Retirement Benefits Group, said, "In an increasingly complex retirement landscape for participants, plan sponsors are looking for advisors with fiduciary expertise to help them choose plan structures and investment options that have the potential to offer greater retirement security for their workers.  We are proud that Retirement Benefits Group has expanded over the years as a leader in this space by acting as just such a partner to plan sponsors.  Our rapid growth continues with the addition of these five leading advisors who have many years of experience in the retirement plan space.  With new offices in Idaho and Nevada, we now cover most of the western United States and will continue to expand east, even as we maintain our total focus on providing retirement plan financial advice that is second to none.  Equally important, we are delighted to work with LPL Financial Retirement Partners, which has acted as a strong enabling partner in our ongoing growth."

Bill Chetney, Executive Vice President of LPL Financial Retirement Partners, said, "We congratulate Retirement Benefits Group for their continued successful growth as a leading firm within the retirement plan space.  We are proud to be an enabling partner to Retirement Benefits Group and other advisor practices focused on this space as they work to help Americans realize their retirement aspirations, and we expect to see strong continued growth in this area."

Matthew Haerr has been a Financial Advisor for over 20 years. He has worked with company sponsored retirement plans, family and personal wealth management, and personal retirement planning throughout his career. Matt has helped business owners and corporations develop strategies for company retirement plans including 401(k), profit sharing and pension plans.

Christine Soscia has been in the financial services industry for over 15 years. She works with business owners in helping design, audit and implement employee benefit programs.  Christine also specializes in working with business owners in the areas of strategic tax planning, wealth management, business planning, estate planning and succession planning.

With her primary focus on 401(k) plans, in 2004 Christine was one of the first to graduate from the 401(k) Coach program.  In 2006, she purchased a TPA firm and managed more than 160 plans.  She has appeared on CNBC and Fox Business and has been quoted in various financial publications.  Christine holds Series 63, 7, 24, and 66 registrations with LPL Financial and Life and Health licenses and is a founding member of the Professional Business Advisor group in Las Vegas.

Amir Arbabi assists companies on plan design, fiduciary oversight and investment due diligence.  Utilizing his years of experience with retirement planning, Amir creates customized plans to meet his clients' unique goals and needs.  In addition to his expertise in plan consulting, Amir has extensive knowledge of wealth and investment management from his training at firms such as Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

Peter Littlejohn joins the Retirement Benefits Group as the practice leader in the Midwest, currently domiciled in Akron, Ohio.  Peter has over 27 years of retirement plan experience, most recently at Highmark Capital Management in San Francisco, where he led the DCIO advisory business beginning in 2009.  Earlier he led retirement businesses at Ivy Funds, Wells Fargo, Strong Capital Management and Cigna Retirement and Investment Services, where he was responsible for sales, marketing, client service and strategic development.

About Retirement Benefits Group Retirement Benefits Group™ ("RBG"), one of the premier retirement plan consulting groups in the country, offers access to brokerage and related retirement-plan services to corporations, governmental agencies, non-profit organizations and their employees through LPL Financial. RBG, which is headquartered in San Diego, CA with additional offices in Irvine, Riverside, Westlake Village, CA, Phoenix, AZ, Gresham, OR, Las Vegas, NV, Idaho Falls, ID, Temecula, CA, Akron, OH, and White Plains, NY, consults on more than $7 billion in retirement plan assets. Visit www.rbgnrp.com for more information.

Financial consultants of RBG are registered representatives with securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Retirement Benefits Group, a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial.

About LPL Financial LPL Financial, a wholly-owned subsidiary of LPL Investment Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA), is the nation's largest independent broker-dealer (based on total revenues, Financial Planning magazine, June 1996-2011), a top RIA custodian, and a leading independent consultant to retirement plans. LPL Financial offers proprietary technology, comprehensive clearing and compliance services, practice management programs and training, and independent research to over 12,900 financial advisors and approximately 680 financial institutions. In addition, LPL Financial supports over 4,400 financial advisors licensed with insurance companies by providing customized clearing, advisory platforms and technology solutions. LPL Financial and its affiliates have approximately 2,700 employees with headquarters in Boston, Charlotte, and San Diego. For more information, please visit www.lpl.com.

*Based on total revenues, Financial Planning magazine, June 1996-2011

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LPL Financial Media Contacts Joseph Kuo / Chris Clemens Haven Tower Group LLC (206) 420-3851 or (206) 420-1525 jkuo@haventower.com or cclemens@haventower.com

RBG Media Contacts Larry Deatherage Retirement Benefits Group (858) 551-4015 ldeatherage@rbgnrp.com

SOURCE LPL Financial LLC