LPL and Financial Telesis Create New RIA Firm

LPL Financial reached a partnership agreement with Financial Telesis and Bill Chetney, former LPL Retirement Partners president, to create a new retirement plan advisory firm known as Global Retirement Partners.

Chetney becomes CEO and partner at the new firm, which will team with LPL’s Hybrid RIA platform. Financial Telesis’s founder and CEO, Jim Williams, will join Global Retirement Partners as president to help manage the day-to-day operations of the new registered investment adviser (RIA) firm and to serve as manager of the newly formed LPL large-enterprise organization.

“Adding Global Retirement Partners as a new large LPL enterprise is another important step forward for LPL Financial in the retirement plan industry,” says LPL Financial President Robert Moore. “This new business venture is structured to ensure that numerous plan sponsors and their clients will benefit from strategic thinking on retirement plan services, including in-plan advice.”

David Reich has been named executive vice president and head of LPL Retirement Partners, and independent adviser services strategy as part of the deal. He will report to Bill Morrissey, managing director of independent adviser services. Prior to joining LPL Retirement Partners in 2011, Reich served as vice president of retirement strategies and solutions for Ameriprise Financial.

In 2010, LPL Financial acquired certain assets of National Retirement Partners (NRP), which was founded and led by Chetney (see “NRP Becomes New Division of LPL”). NRP offered retirement plan services to thousands of employers nationwide and the transaction provided LPL Financial with a new opportunity to assist advisers in the U.S. who focus on retirement consulting, according to the firm.

Williams says the new partnership and formation of Global Retirement Partners should create an opportunity for up to 400 Financial Telesis licensed associates to access client services available through LPL Financial. 

The business venture is expected to close within the third quarter of 2014. Global Retirement Partners will be based in San Rafael, California.

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