Frequently Asked Questions
Why choose a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER(TM) practioner to act as my financial advisor?
Choosing a financial planner may be one of the most important decisions you make for yourself and your loved ones. Financial planners can provide you and your family with guidance over your lifetime, or work with you to address specific concerns as needed. A planner can play a central role in helping you meet your life goals and pursue financial well-being. Consequently, take the time to select a financial planner who is competent and trustworthy, one on whom you can depend for professional advice and services. Your future depends on the choices you make.
Check the background of investment professionals associated with this site on FINRA's Broker Check.
Who is taking care of my assets and how are my accounts protected?
LPL Financial supports independent financial advisors by providing comprehensive custody services for their clients. That means LPL Financial takes responsibility for holding your assets in their care and processing your investment transactions. Your assets are strictly segregated from the proprietary assets of LPL financial and your financial advisor.
Simplified recordkeeping makes it easier for you. Your financial advisor counts on LPL Financial to keep track of all your transactions throughout the year. Consolidated statements make it easy to track your progress over time and simplify tax reporting too. End-of-year summary statements collect all your important information including purchases, sales, cost basis, income, and dividend distirubutions in a single report.
The LPL Financial SIPC membership provides account protection up to a maximum of $500,000 per customer, of which $100,000 may be for cash. For an explanatory brochure, visit www.sipc.org.
Through the LPL Financial multi-bank Insured Cash Account Program, deposits are eligible for up to $1 million of deposit insurance for individual accounts and up to $2 million of deposit insurance for joint accounts through FDIC. At each bank your Insured Cash Account deposits are insured by the FDIC to a maximum amount of $250,000 (including principal and accured interest) when aggregated with all other deposits held by you in the same recognized legal capacity (e.g., individual, joint, IRA, etc.) at the same bank. If you have any quetions about FDIC insurance coverage visit www.fdic.gov. Keep in mind that other investent holdings are subject to loss.
Can you tell me more about LPL Financial (where are they headquartered, size of firm, etc.?)
LPL Financial is the #1 independent broker/dealer in the country*, and the fifth largest broker/dealer in the U.S.** by revenue and number of advisors. LPL Financial has headquarters in San Diego, Boston and Charlotte and a staff of over 2,300 supporting over 16,000 financial advisors across the United States.
LPL Financial offers no investment products of their own, so advisors who work with LPL Financial can devote their time and energies not to product quotas and sales goals, but to understanding your indvidual financial objectives. To help meet your needs with suitable options, LPL Financial provides access to thousands of securities and forms alliances with the nation's leading providers of investment and insurance products.
* As reported by Financial Planning Magazine, June 1996-2009, based on total revenue.
** Based on publicaly disclosed information and announced mergers as of 12/31/2008.