A former LPL Financial executive has started a retirement plan advisory firm and teamed up with the independent broker-dealer.

Bill Chetney, the former president of LPL Retirement Partners, will buy assets of Financial Telesis Inc. (FTI) in San Rafael, Calif., and form Global Retirement Partners, where he will serve as CEO, and partner with LPL’s hybrid RIA platform, LPL announced today.

FTI’s founder and CEO, Jim Williams, will serve as Global Retirement Partners president and manage day-to-day operations, according to LPL.

The agreement will give up to 400 FTI associates access to LPL’s products and services, according to Williams.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, according to LPL. Global Retirement will continue to be based in San Rafael.

"Adding Global Retirement Partners as a new large LPL enterprise is another important step forward for LPL Financial in the retirement plan industry," LPL Financial President Robert Moore said in a press release.

Chetney was the founder of National Retirement Partners (NRP), which was acquired by LPL Financial in 2010. Before resigning from LPL recently, he helped the broker-dealer grow NRP into a group that supports more than 5,500 of LPL's advisors with $99 billion in retirement plan assets custodied with third-party providers, according to LPL. The group’s advisors provide retirement plan consulting strategies for more than 39,000 plans with three million participants.