LPL Financial LLC has its main office in Boston, Massachusetts

LPL Financial is a firm that has had tremendous growth in the last decade, becoming one of the largest brokerage firms in the country.  LPL Financial declares itself “the nation’s largest independent stockbroker, a top RIA custodian, and an independent consultant to retirement plans.”  LPL Financial goes on to say “…our organization is known for our strength and stability, a great reputation in the industry, an exceptional compliance record, and excellent customer service.”

LPL Financial has had a range of stockbroker issues that have resulted in significant payments.  The leadership of LPL has recently stated that the firm has now doubled its compliance and risk management staff and is working hard to put those issues behind it.  StockBrokerLawyer.com  reminds investors and customers that a stockbrokerage firm will always argue that the passage of time means that it does not have to pay on any kind of wrong, no matter how bad.  If you think you may have a case, you should contact us now, rather than giving the stockbroker a stronger defense to your claim.

LPL Financial was formed in 1989 through the merger of two brokerage firms—Linsco (established in 1968) and Private Ledger (established in 1973)—and has since expanded its number of independent financial advisors from a few hundred to more than 13,840 in June 2014.  LPL is a powerhouse entity, with many regulator issues.   LPL Financial has main offices in Boston, Charlotte, and San Diego.  On January 1, 2008, Linsco/Private Ledger Corp. (LPL Financial Services) changed its brand name to “LPL Financial.”  On November 18, 2010, LPL Investment Holdings Inc., the parent company of LPL Financial, become a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ Stock Market under ticker symbol LPLA.  LPL Financial has annual revenues over $4,000,000 and is growing.

LPL Financial has been in the spotlight over the past few years due to its host of problems with the industry self-regulator Finra and  state regulators. Two products that have caused LPL to pay fines or restitution to clients have been nontraded real estate investment trusts (REITS), a popular alternative investment, and variable annuities, because of their complexity of pricing and exchanges of old variable annuities for new ones.

For example, Finra in May, 2015 ordered LPL Financial  to pay $11.7 million in fines and restitution for what it deemed “widespread supervisory failures” related to sales of complex products, according to a settlement.   From 2007 to as recently as April, 2015 LPL Financial  failed to properly supervise sales of certain investments, including certain ETFs (exchange-traded funds), variable annuities and nontraded REITs, and also failed to properly deliver more than 14 million trade confirmations to customers, according to Finra.

And in July, 2015, Finra ordered LPL Financial to pay $6.3 million in restitution to clients after it failed to waive sales commissions for certain mutual fund shares sold.  Those sales were from July 2009 and the end of 2014.   Many of those investors know they have losses, but don’t know that they can make a claim against the firm.

As LPL Financial has expanded, state and federal authorities have censured the company and its brokers with unusual frequency. LPL Financial brokers have been penalized for selling complex investments to unsophisticated investors, for speculative trading in customer accounts, and, in a few cases, for outright stealing from clients.

“LPL Financial is on our radar screen more than any other firm,” said Lynne Egan, who oversees state securities regulation in Montana to the New York Times.  Last fall, Ms. Egan brought a case against LPL Financial , accusing it of failing to supervise a broker. She said her office is preparing to bring another case against the company, involving multiple brokers.

LPL Financial has related companies including The Private Trust Company N.A., and Fortigent Holdings Company.  LPL Financial was previously known as Linsco Private Ledger Corp., and has undergone gigantic growth in the last decade, becoming one of the largest brokerage firms in the U.S., itself a publicly traded firm.

If you have losses in your account with LPL Financial as your financial advisor, call (888) 986-7199 or write the investment recovery lawyers at StockBrokerLawyer.com for a free no-cost consultation. We can help recover your losses and seek other damages, too.

You can use the email form or chat on StockBrokerLawyer.com You may be entitled to recover your losses. We work on contingency: we are paid only when you are paid. Time is limited; delay is the favorite defense of the brokerage firms. Call 888-986-7199 now to speak to an attorney for a no cost evaluation.