By Andrew Welsch

LPL Financial held talks with rival Commonwealth Financial Network about a potential acquisition, according to two news reports that cited anonymous people familiar with the matter.

A spokeswoman for LPL declined to comment. A representative for Commonwealth couldn't be reached for comment.

Shares of LPL rose 1.1% Friday compared with a 2% decline for the S&P 500. The stock is up 28% over the past 12 months. The S&P is up 6% over the same period.

LPL is one of the nation's largest wealth management companies and has been growing through acquisitions. The San Diego-based company has about 29,000 financial advisors and $1.7 trillion of assets. Earlier this week, new CEO Rich Steinmeier told Barron's Advisor he thinks the company can grow even more.

Industry news website CityWire on Thursday reported that LPL had held talks with Commonwealth on an acquisition. InvestmentNews reported on the talks on Friday, saying a potential deal could be an outright purchase or LPL taking a "significant equity stake" in Commonwealth.

A potential acquisition of Commonwealth would be among LPL's largest deals. The independent broker-dealer has more than 2,300 independent financial advisors and more than $344 billion in client assets, according to the company. Commonwealth was founded in 1979 and is a privately held company with headquarters in Waltham, Mass., and San Diego.

Last year, LPL acquired Atria Wealth Solutions, which had approximately 2,400 financial professionals and nearly $100 billion of assets under administration. LPL paid an upfront price of approximately $805 million, plus additional costs for advisor retention as well as integration efforts that are ongoing.

The independent broker-dealer sector has been consolidating in recent years as firms seek to gain scale to cope with higher technology and compliance costs. LPL has been among the most acquisitive IBDs. It also provides a wealth management platform for advisors at banks, credit unions, and insurance companies.

LPL executives recently told analysts that they are working to rein in costs at the company. In January, LPL said it expected its 2025 general and administrative costs to rise to between $1.73 billion to $1.78 billion from $1.56 billion to $1.6 billion due to integration work related to the Atria acquisition and the onboarding of an insurance company's wealth management business.

Write to Andrew Welsch at andrew.welsch@barrons.com

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March 28, 2025 17:14 ET (21:14 GMT)

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