Independent advisors

CEO Ron Kruszewski received praise for leading the firm's wealth management unit to a record for revenue, despite costly legal setbacks.

As LPL fights to keep teams in the fold, competitors are making strong plays and pointing to the large brokerage's perceived blemishes. The founders of KRM Investment Counsel said they also found what they wanted at Arkadios, an employee-owned firm.

CEO Paul Shoukry also told analysts that the merger and acquisition deals coursing through the industry could open doors for firms eager to bring in advisors and net new assets.

Aneri Jambusaria, among other LPL executives, plans to offer a bevy of support services to advisors of the soon-to-be purchased Commonwealth Financial Network while maintaining its small-firm feel.

States can now adopt a model rule that will prevent brokers from holding themselves out to the public as "advisors" or "advisers."

The deal, expected to close in the second half of the year, will bring in $16 billion in client assets and 110 advisors.

Also this week, Raymond James recruits from Morgan Stanley, and Mercer Advisors and EP Wealth Advisors make big M&A deals.

The LPL CEO says Commonwealth advisors have almost nothing to lose and much to gain by joining a firm whose headcount is fast approaching 29,000. (Plus, experts say he'll be writing big checks.)

Industry experts think LPL will have to work hard to retain Commonwealth advisors who were sold on the idea that they'd be working for a "boutique" firm.

The acquisition will bring LPL as much as $285 billion in AUM and 2,900 advisors when it closes in the second half of the year.