Father-and-son advisors Burke and Christopher Francis, overseeing $1.2 billion in client assets, have joined LPL Strategic Wealth Services, LPL Financial’s supported independence model, to launch a family-focused office and independent practice, the company said.
Operating as the Francis Group at LPL in Westlake Village, a suburb of Los Angeles, the Francis family team were formerly with Morgan Stanley.
Burke Francis founded the practice in 1966, specializing in asset management for high-net-worth individuals. His son, Chris, joined the family business in 1998 after pursuing a career in real estate development and numerous other venture-backed companies, according to a press release. Both father and son share the title of managing partner and serve a clientele of affluent families, corporate executives, businesses, and private investors nationwide.
The father-son team said that feedback from their clients inspired them to seek out a new partner that was able to help them provide white-glove, family-focused office service experiences, the news release said. After performing their due diligence, the duo decided that LPL Strategic Wealth Services was the best partner to help them achieve that goal in the high-net-worth space. They also said they sought more freedom to build a culture more closely aligned with their values and mission, free from sales goals and corporate agendas.
“Now we can grow and build the firm as we’d like, with the expanded resources and experience from the LPL Strategic Wealth Services team,” Chris Francis said in a prepared statement. “With this dedicated support, along with LPL’s innovative digital capabilities and robust business solutions, we’ll have the tools and resources at our disposal to deliver enhanced services and experiences for each client.”
LPL Strategic Wealth provides affiliating advisors with access to LPL’s integrated wealth management platform and strategic support for daily operations and long-term business management, the company said.
“We used to tell our clients ‘bigger is better,’ but we realize that is not the case anymore, and with searing vision comes beneficial results,” Burke Francis said. “We are built to be free and in our case, free to build a business on our own terms within a culture that aligns with our value, free from the burden of corporate influence. We strive for transparency, and our independence sets us apart allowing us to adhere to the highest ethical standards without conflict. That is who we are.”
Headquartered in Fort Mill, S.C., San Diego, and Boston, LPL Financial serves nearly 22,000 financial advisors nationwide.