Merrill Lynch Duo with $311 AUM Moves to LPL Hybrid Platform
LPL Financial, the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer, announced that Barton Spector Wealth Strategies has joined its broker-dealer platform and aligned with Stratos Wealth Partners, an independent advisory firm on LPL’s hybrid registered investment advisor platform.
Barton Spector Wealth Strategies, previously affiliated with Merrill Lynch, oversees approximately $311 million in client brokerage and advisory assets. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based firm includes two advisors, Sharon Barton and Jay Spector, and focuses on retirement income planning.
Barton, who spent 31 years at Merrill Lynch, said that “business and culture changes” were limiting their ability to support clients, but the implementation of the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule “ultimately became the impetus” for the move to LPL.
Earlier this month, LPL purchased independent broker-dealer network National Planning Holdings Inc., whose affiliated advisors serve approximately $120 billion in client brokerage and advisory assets.
LPL Financial is a subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA) and served approximately $550 billion in brokerage and advisory assets as of July 31, 2017. LPL is the nation’s largest independent broker-dealer and provides proprietary technology, comprehensive clearing and compliance services, practice management programs and training, and independent research to more than 14,000 financial advisors and over 700 financial institutions.
