A History of Independence

LPL was founded in 1989 with a pioneering vision. Two retired Navy captains who fought in WWII as aviators had a dream of freedom and independence that was, at the time, almost unheard of in the industry. They wanted to create a firm that turned the industry upside down – one where the firm worked for the advisor instead of the advisor working for the firm. By merging two firms, Linsco and Private Ledger, they brought their vision to life as LPL Financial.

As other firms shifted into banking and proprietary products, LPL avoided market chaos and remained steadfast in its commitment to independence. Part of our success has been that we’ve never told brokers what to sell.

We’ve always believed that the independent advisor is essential to the industry. For more than 30 years, we’ve helped entrepreneurial financial advisors establish successful businesses, offering truly independent financial guidance and investment advice.