LPL Financial Welcomes Level Four® Group To Broker-Dealer And Hybrid RIA Platforms

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- LPL Financial LLC, the nation's largest independent broker-dealer*, leading RIA custodian and wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA), today announced that Level Four^® Group, a leading independent advisor group, has affiliated with the LPL Financial broker-dealer platform. Additionally, Level Four^® Group will also utilize the LPL Financial RIA platform as its principal custodian through its independent registered investment advisory (RIA) firm, Level Four^® Advisory Services, LLC. As part of this move, Level Four^® Group, which has close to $1 billion in client assets, is transitioning approximately 50 licensed independent financial advisors.

Based in Plano, TX, Level Four^® Group provides business development and support services for financial professionals, as well as wealth management and risk management services. Originally established to provide business development and consulting services to accounting firms and independent CPAs seeking to add wealth management to their accounting practices, Level Four^® Group has grown to encompass 25 full-time, independent financial investment advisors and 25 accounting firms and independent CPAs offering investment advisory services. Level Four^® Group has four retail offices: two in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, one in Austin, TX, and one in Irvine, CA.

Jake Tomes, CEO of Level Four^® Group, said, "Today, significant changes are occurring throughout the wealth management industry, and Level Four^® Group is positioned to grow by capitalizing on these changes. Along with the trend of financial advisors increasingly seeking independence, there is a growing movement, already dominant in many countries throughout the world, toward providing financial advice on a fee-for-service basis. We believe more of our advice will be priced on an hourly basis, on a project basis, or as part of a package of services. This shift also parallels a movement toward providing clients with a comprehensive suite of services, as in a family-office environment, wherein the client can receive not only wealth management but tax, estate planning, insurance and other financial consulting services." 

Mr. Tomes continued, "Level Four^® Group has put into place systems that position us to grow rapidly in this new industry landscape. Our transfer to LPL Financial will be instrumental in attracting talented independent advisors who share our vision for growth and who wish to advance their own practices to the next level. Viewed within this context, LPL Financial, in our opinion, is simply the strongest independent broker-dealer:  Its tools and resources provide independent advisors with the quality support they need, while its powerful brand image is also a potent draw for its platform. At the same time, LPL Financial offers Level Four^® the flexibility we require to accommodate both our business model and the spectrum of independent advisor models that we support. We are very excited about joining forces with LPL Financial."

Bill Morrissey, Executive Vice President of Business Development at LPL Financial, said, "We are delighted to welcome a large, successful and sophisticated independent advisor group such as Level Four^® Group and its affiliated advisors to the LPL Financial broker-dealer and hybrid RIA platforms. Level Four^® Group's decision to affiliate with our platform is a reflection of the unparalleled breadth of capabilities LPL Financial can deploy to support sophisticated and highly successful advisor groups.  We look forward to helping Level Four^® Group reinforce its position as an emerging industry leader, and align our resources around the firm's unique business model within the advisory space."

About Level Four® Group
Based in Plano, TX, Level Four^® Group provides extensive business development and operational support to accounting firms and financial professionals seeking to create a holistic financial services offering.  Its office of supervisory jurisdiction (OSJ) provides support services to over 50 financial professionals, and its coaching and training services drives its philosophy across its members' practices. Its SEC-registered investment advisor (RIA), Level Four^®  Advisory Services, LLC, is an independent, full-service investment management firm providing a broad array of financial services, including retirement planning, tax management, estate planning, risk management, education funding, investment management, employee and executive benefits. Level Four^® Insurance Services, LLC, its managing general agency, provides a wide range of risk management services to its network of financial advisors. More information is available at www.levelfourgroup.com.

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 headquarters in Boston, Charlotte, and San Diego. For more information, please visit www.lpl.com.

Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Level Four Advisory Services, a registered investment advisor. Level Four^® Advisory Services, Level Four^® Group, and Level Four^® Insurance Services LLC are separate entities from LPL Financial.

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

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements (regarding management expectations, strategic objectives, business prospects, financial results, and other similar matters) that involve risks and uncertainties. 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 future results, plans, intentions or expectations expressed or implied by LPL Financial Holdings Inc. or its affiliates will be achieved. Matters subject to forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to be materially different than those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements.  Important factors that could cause or contribute such differences include, but are not limited to, LPL Financial LLC's ability to successfully transition the Level Four^® Group-affiliated advisors to its platform, changes in general economic and financial market conditions, fluctuations in the value of assets under custody, effects of competition in the financial services industry, changes in the number of our financial advisors and institutions and their ability to effectively market financial products and services, 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 LPL Financial Holdings Inc.'s 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which is available on www.lpl.com and www.sec.gov.

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Media Contacts
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SOURCE LPL Financial LLC