LPL Buys FinTech Firm for $12 Million
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA), the parent company of the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer LPL Financial LLC, has acquired Blaze Portfolio, a Chicago-based fintech firm founded in 2010.
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA), the parent company of the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer, LPL Financial LLC, has acquired Blaze Portfolio, a Chicago-based fintech firm founded in 2010.
LPL paid an initial purchase price of approximately $12 million and has agreed to a potential contingent payment of up to $5 million subject to milestones and customary purchase price adjustments.
Blaze Portfolio currently serves 135 investment firms and provides an advisor-facing trading system that LPL will integrate into its platform to expand its wealth management capabilities and drive growth.
“For many advisors, our trading platform is their lifeblood, and the way they express and execute their investment strategies for their clients in a sophisticated way. It’s important, therefore, that we continue to invest in our offering to help them differentiate, grow and win in the marketplace,” said Burt White, LPL Financial managing director and chief investment officer. “Acquiring Blaze Portfolio will enable us to provide our advisors with a dynamic trading and rebalancing system that can be utilized by practices of all sizes, affiliations and sophistications to meet their clients’ needs.”
LPL will continue to offer Blaze Portfolio’s services as a stand-alone product to the wealth management industry and intends to retain Blaze’s team of employees.
LPL Financial provides service to approximately $762 billion in brokerage and advisory assets as of June 30, 2020. The company provides proprietary technology, clearing services, practice management programs and training, and independent research to 16,973 financial advisors.
