Hybrid platform advisory assets grew 29 percent, to $84.6 billion. Brokerage assets associated with hybrid RIAs were $64.7 billion, up 22 percent from 2015.
Hybrid advisory assets usually aren’t as profitable since LPL does not share in the advisory fees of the independent RIAs who use the platform. LPL charges fees instead.
Another bright spot is LPL’s insured cash sweep account, with assets growing 9 percent from a year ago to $22.8 billion. With rates on the rise, LPL’s margin on cash balances grew as well, to 73 basis points, up from 50 basis points a year ago.
Notably, the firm gained a net 323 advisors in 2016, a turnaround from the net gain of just 18 reps in 2015, bringing LPL back to its historical trend of about 300 additions per year.
Regardless of what happens with the DOL rule, Arnold said LPL would continue its work on standardizing commissions for annuities and mutual funds, as well as its robo platform rollout.
“We will continue to move forward with the previously announced policy changes,” he said.
The year-end earnings call was the first for Arnold, who replaced former CEO Mark Casady in December.