LPL Financial Hosts 2015 Retirement Partners Annual Conference

Firm Announces Enhanced Resources That Create Scale and Add Value for Affiliated Advisors Managing Retirement Plan

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 05, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading retail investment advisory firm and independent broker/dealer LPL Financial LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA), is hosting its Retirement Partners Annual Conference from Nov. 5 to 8 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The invitation-only event gathers more than 275 of the top LPL-affiliated advisors who focus their business on managing retirement plan business. The advisors are joining LPL executives, service providers and industry experts to discuss trends and tips for practice management and to align with resources from LPL and the firm's extensive network of providers.

"LPL's Retirement Partners team looks forward to this event each year because it provides us the opportunity to meet with our advisors to discuss what matters most to them and provides them with a greater understanding of the extensive resources that LPL has to help them to efficiently operate their businesses, position them for growth and further enable them to help their clients plan for a successful retirement," said David Reich, LPL executive vice president and head of Retirement Partners. "This year, we are particularly excited to share two new solutions that allow us to leverage LPL's scale to benefit our advisors managing small plans, provide them with resources they might not otherwise have access to and allow them to remain competitive in the market."

The two new solutions being announced at the event are:

• Plan Support Services: A new offering that delivers behind-the-scenes support services from LPL consultants to advisors' offices, creating greater efficiencies and providing advisors more time to spend working directly with clients. Support includes administrative reporting, documentation, RFP support, marketing and training.
• Small Market Solution: LPL creates scale for advisors managing small retirement plans with this solution that will offer 3(38) fiduciary services to minimize risk as well as access to Plan Support Services. With the solution, advisors who manage small plans will gain the resources often available only to those advisors who manage larger plans, allowing them to more efficiently manage their retirement plan business and create exceptional levels of service for the plans they serve.

In addition, Reich highlighted significant enhancements that have been made to the retirement plan tool suite in 2015. "These additions and enhancements to the tool suite further demonstrate LPL's commitment to innovation and our firm's leadership in the retirement plan space," Reich said. Among the enhancements:

• LPL's Employee Advice Solution, a managed account option offered through LPL's Worksite Financial Solutions, can serve as the Qualified Default Investment Alternative for eligible retirement plans, making it easier for plan sponsors to get plan participants the advice they need.
• Pension Resource Institute is now offered as a resource for advisor and plan sponsor fiduciary education materials.
• Comprehensive benchmarking and reporting tools developed by Fiduciary Benchmarks have now been integrated into the tool suite and are a standard offering for all subscribers.
• A user interface redesign, scheduled to be completed by the end of the year, is being designed to create an easier and more efficient workflow and navigation within the Investment Monitoring System (FiRM).
• In addition, the tool suite, when in use with LPL's 12-point scoring methodology for investment analysis, has been certified by the Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX)*. A CEFEX certification can provide assurance to advisors that the tool suite was designed to facilitate their fiduciary obligations and enable best practices in investment management.
• And finally, LPL refreshed all marketing resources available to Retirement Partners advisors in order to create the most up-to-date and appropriate resources for advisors to market and grow their businesses.

The LPL Retirement Partners Annual Conference provides attendees the opportunity to network with other successful independent plan advisors, gather valuable insights from firm executives and industry representatives and attend breakout sessions covering a variety of topics that can help advisors grow their practices and improve the lives of plan participants. A Learning Lounge offers advisors an opportunity to engage with home office staff and select partners to gain a greater understanding of how to leverage the extensive suite of services available.

Keynote speakers at this year's event include renowned researcher on happiness Shawn Achor and football legend Archie Manning. Achor researches the connection between happiness and success and is a New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Advantage and Before Happiness. He has worked with Fortune 100 companies, the National Football League, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of the Treasury as well as with populations worldwide to discuss the science of happiness and meaning. Manning is a Hall of Fame NFL and college football player, and father of professional football players Peyton and Eli. His illustrious career has earned him honors including: All-American Quarterback at the University of Mississippi, Mississippi's Greatest All-Time Athlete (1992), Mississippi's Most Popular Athlete of the Century, 50-Year All-South Team (1940-1990) and Top 25 Athletes of the Century in Louisiana.

About LPL Financial 
LPL Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA), is a leader in the retail financial advice market and currently serves $462 billion in advisory and brokerage assets. LPL is one of the fastest growing RIA custodians and is the nation's largest independent broker-dealer (based on total revenues, Financial Planning magazine June 1996-2015). The Company provides proprietary technology, comprehensive clearing and compliance services, practice management programs and training, and independent research to more than 14,000 independent financial advisors and over 700 banks and credit unions, enabling them to help their clients turn life's aspirations into financial realities. Advisors associated with LPL also service an estimated 40,000 retirement plans with an estimated $115 billion in retirement plan assets, as of September 30, 2015. LPL also supports approximately 4,300 financial advisors licensed and affiliated with insurance companies with customized clearing, advisory platforms, and technology solutions. LPL Financial and its affiliates have 3,413 employees with primary offices in Boston, Charlotte, and San Diego. For more information, please visit www.lpl.com.

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Source: LPL Financial

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