A Houston-based advisor (and former skilled tennis participant) with $725 million in managed property is shifting to LPL Monetary from Financial institution of America, in accordance with the impartial dealer/supplier.
Alberto Francis is forming Rockview Non-public Wealth by way of his transfer to LPL Non-public Wealth Administration, the agency’s worker affiliation mannequin for advisors centered on high-net-worth shoppers.
Francis had brief stints at JP Morgan and LPL earlier than becoming a member of Merrill in 2018, in accordance with SEC information. He’s the son of Irish and Mexican immigrants and spent three years on the ATP Tour skilled tennis circuit, together with showing at Wimbledon (he was additionally a former NCAA Champion and All-American from UCLA). He accomplished his MBA at Stanford in 2011 earlier than becoming a member of the business.
Francis works with high-net-worth enterprise homeowners, athletes and medical and legislation professionals. He mentioned he’d been engaged on a transfer into investments, planning and customised providers together with his personal observe.
“I’ve gained the mandatory enterprise expertise to make a profitable transfer into the impartial area and sit up for having extra management over the subsequent chapter of my profession,” he mentioned.
The LPL Non-public Wealth channel provides advisors a wide range of providers tailor-made to HNW shoppers, together with property and philanthropic planning, trustee providers and another funding platform. Francis mentioned he selected “Rockview” as a moniker in tribute to the Irish property the place 5 generations of his household lived.
“The power to craft dynamic, client-focused methods with out the constraints of proprietary merchandise means I can concentrate on what’s greatest for my shoppers and their futures,” he mentioned.
This yr alone, LPL has attracted quite a few groups from Merrill/Financial institution of America, together with Oklahoma Metropolis-based advisors Alain Verhille and James Wooden, who managed about $705 million at Merrill earlier than becoming a member of LPL Non-public Wealth Administration. LPL additionally attracted a $1 billion Doylestown, Pa..-based crew to its premium affiliation mannequin and grabbed former Merrill groups totaling $820 million and $580 million from Texas and Florida, respectively.
Nevertheless, LPL can be dealing with a number of fits calling for sophistication actions towards the agency, alleging its money sweep packages violated its tasks to shoppers. Like many corporations, LPL has a program to mechanically switch (or “sweep”) uninvested money balances into “interest-bearing” accounts. In separate fits, LPL shoppers Dan Peters and Douglas Nevitt argued that sweep packages at all times boosted LPL income at prospects’ expense.
Nonetheless, in accordance with CEO Dan Arnold, LPL has “no plans” to vary its pricing on money options (in contrast to rivals like Morgan Stanley, Financial institution of America and Wells Fargo, which have introduced potential sweep account shifts). Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are additionally dealing with scrutiny from the SEC over their money sweep packages.