LPL Financial Names Victor Fetter Managing Director and Chief Information Officer

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- LPL Financial LLC, the nation's largest independent broker-dealer* and a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA), today announced that Victor Fetter has been appointed chief information officer (CIO) and managing director of the company's Business Technology Services (BTS) business unit, effective December 17, 2012.  Mr. Fetter will be based in Charlotte and will report to Mark Casady, LPL Financial chairman and CEO.  He will also serve as a member of the firm's Executive Management Committee.

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Mr. Fetter, a 22-year IT industry veteran, will join LPL Financial from Dell Inc., where he was vice president and chief information officer of Dell online.  Since 2007, he has been instrumental in delivering global solutions for Dell's consumer and commercial customers.  Prior to his time at Dell, he served as the global CIO at Mercer Human Resources Consulting.

Mr. Casady said, "The strategic decisions we make as a company always relate first and foremost to the value we create for our advisors and institutional customers.  Hiring a CIO of Victor's caliber is an indicator of our strong commitment to investing in solutions and capabilities that differentiate our technology platform in the marketplace, and of the enhancements we are making to improve service delivery and execution for our employees and customers alike."

In his new role, Mr. Fetter will build upon the strong technology foundation laid by Chris Feeney, the company's current CIO.  Following the conclusion of a transition period over the next several months, Mr. Feeney has decided to retire after five years of service with LPL Financial and more than 30 years in the financial services technology industry.

"With Chris's help, our technology transformation is underway and the roadmap is drawn for our next steps forward.  We are grateful for Chris's years of service and contributions to the success of our firm and wish him well in the next phase of his life," Mr. Casady said.

The evolution of the LPL Financial technology platform will help to enhance the services the company offers the advisors and institutions it serves, while advancing the infrastructure, efficiencies, and functionality that will support the firm's Service Value Commitment.  There will be no impact to the timing of scheduled technology releases as a result of the transition.

Mr. Casady added, "Our ability to attract an executive such as Victor speaks to the strength of our firm's reputation, the attractiveness of our mission and business model, and the powerful opportunities for LPL Financial to continue to grow as a leader in the financial services industry – particularly through the use of technology to more efficiently and effectively serve our customers and their end clients, creating a mutual competitive advantage among our industry peers."

Mr. Fetter's accomplishments include delivering robust, personalized digital experiences and end-to-end technology solutions for consumer and commercial customers; driving IT efficiency with a focus on increased innovation; delivering highly scalable infrastructure solutions; and enhancing sales and corporate systems, including the architecture of global online, mobile and social commerce capabilities.

Mr. Fetter said, "I am thrilled to be joining LPL Financial, and I look forward to working with Chris and the many talented members of the BTS team to reinforce and extend the company's technology leadership and overall competitiveness in the financial services space.  Having led multiple IT transformations to adapt technology to new business demands, I look forward to applying these experiences to a new and distinctive set of challenges and opportunities at LPL Financial."

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding expected changes in senior management positions, future technology enhancements and releases, improvements to the services offered to advisors and institutions, and other matters. The words "anticipates," "believes," "expects," "may," "plans," "predicts," "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees that the future results, plans, intentions or expectations expressed or implied by LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (the "Company") will be achieved.  Matters subject to forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including economic, legislative, regulatory, competitive and other factors, which may cause actual financial or operating results, levels of activity, or the timing of events, to be materially different than those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements.  Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include: the Company's success in developing and implementing its technology transformation plans and initiatives, the Company's success in attracting and retaining information technology personnel; effects of competition in the financial services industry; changes in the number of the Company's financial advisors and institutions, and their ability to market effectively financial products and services; the Company's success in negotiating agreements with current or additional technology vendors; the Company's success in integrating the operations of acquired businesses; the effect of current, pending and future legislation, regulation and regulatory actions; and the other factors set forth in Part I, "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in the Company's 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K.  Except as required by law, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this quarterly report, even if its estimates change, and you should not rely on those statements as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA), is the nation's largest independent broker-dealer (based on total revenues, Financial Planning magazine, June 1996-2012), a top RIA custodian, and a leading independent consultant to retirement plans. LPL Financial offers integrated technology, comprehensive clearing and compliance services, practice management programs and training, and independent research to over 13,100 financial advisors and approximately 685 financial institutions. In addition, LPL Financial supports over 4,500 financial advisors licensed with insurance companies by providing customized clearing, advisory platforms and technology solutions. LPL Financial and its affiliates have approximately 2,900 employees with primary offices in Boston, Charlotte, and San Diego.  For more information, please visit www.lpl.com.

Securities and Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial.  A Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC

*Based on total revenues, Financial Planning magazine, June 1996-2012

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SOURCE LPL Financial