LPL Financial Enhances Portfolios Platform

LPL’s platform expansion also encompasses models from LPL Financial Research and BlackRock, with new strategies and increased flexibility for the firm’s advisers and clients. The company has lowered account minimums to participate in the platform to $25,000, compared with $100,000, the cost when the platform was first launched. This decrease was driven by the combination of more demand from advisers and innovation on the part of strategists managing smaller accounts.

The company says it expects the changes to expand the platform’s flexibility and accessibility, while enabling its advisers to create a greater range of customized solutions. MWP, a centrally managed, fee-based platform, has an array of mutual fund and exchange-traded fund (ETF) strategies in an efficient, easy-to-manage format.

The additional portfolio strategists bring unique investment philosophies, knowledge and experience to the MWP platform, furthering capabilities in asset allocation, risk management and absolute return, among other investment objectives. The platform now has eight companies providing strategies.

The specific portfolios are:

LPL Financial Research: Absolute Return Diversified Plus, Tactical Opportunities Diversified Plus, Strategic Exchange-Traded Product (ETP) Portfolios;  

AlphaSimplex Group: Risk Efficient Portfolios;  

BlackRock: Tactical Mutual Fund Model;  

J.P. Morgan Asset Management: Global Asset Allocation, Tax Sensitive, Absolute Return Portfolios; and

Morningstar Investment Services: Mutual Fund and Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) Managed Portfolios, including tax-conscious mutual fund options and Absolute Return Model.

As of March 31, assets under management on the platform totaled $8.7 billion, an increase of 72.8% over the previous year and an increase of 13,345.6% since its inception in February 2008.