LPL Financial Holdings announced today it is acquiring Atria Wealth Solutions, adding 2,400 advisors and $100 billion in brokerage and advisory assets to its already significant holdings. Investment bankers estimated that LPL paid at least $750 million and maybe as much as $1 billion when all the earn-outs are factored into the transaction.
Atria, an acquisitive wealth management holding company headquartered in New York, supports 150 banks and credit unions. Established in 2017, Atria operates a network of broker-dealer subsidiaries focused on supporting independent financial advisors and institutions nationwide.
LPL Holdings includes LPL Financial, the retail investment advisory firm and independent broker-dealer.
“Atria has built a great community of advisors and institutions, led by their client-centered culture,” Dan Arnold, LPL Financial president and CEO, said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming their advisors and institutions to the LPL family, and to helping them optimize their success by providing the capabilities, technology and services to differentiate and win in the marketplace and run thriving businesses.”
As part of the agreement, Atria will add its brokerage and advisory assets, which are currently custodied with its network of broker-dealers, to the LPL platform.
Among the broker-dealers that are part of Atria, CUSO Financial Services and Sorrento Pacific Financial support banks and credit unions. An additional five broker-dealers, Cadaret Grant, NEXT Financial Group, SCF Securities, Western International Securities and Grove Point Financial, support independent financial professionals.
The purchase agreement was signed yesterday and the deal is expected to close in the second half of 2024, with the conversion is expected to be completed in mid-2025, LPL said. LPL has 22,000 advisors, 1,100 institutions, 570 RIA firms and $1.35 trillion in advisory assets. Despite its size, Atria would not be the largest acquisition by LPL. The largest was in 2017, when it acquired National Planning Holdings, with 3,200 advisors and $120 billion in client assets.
“I’m excited for the opportunity that our financial advisors and institutions will have to leverage LPL’s breadth of services, vast resources and unparalleled value proposition,” Doug Ketterer, Atria Wealth Solutions CEO and founding partner, said in a statement. “There is no question that LPL represents the best opportunity for a financial professional, bank or credit union to grow their practice or investment program.”