$2.8B OSJ Level Four acquires IBD and CEO leaves LPL

In what may be the biggest departure from the No. 1 IBD in years, a tax professional-focused enterprise acquired a midsize broker-dealer and its CEO left LPL Financial.

Dallas-based Level Four Advisory Services’ CEO Edmon “Jake” Tomes changed his broker-dealer registration to Harbor Financial Services on Dec. 10, and the parent firm of the office of supervisory jurisdiction and hybrid RIA purchased Harbor in October, according to disclosures on FINRA BrokerCheck and in the SEC Form ADV database. Level Four has $2.79 billion in assets under management and 114 registered representatives as of March 31.

The firm still lists LPL alongside Harbor in Part 2 brochure disclosures on other financial industry affiliations noting its BDs, but OSJ moves of this size often take several months to complete. Tomes formally dropped LPL as his BD on Dec. 17, BrokerCheck shows.

Tomes and representatives for Harbor, and the parent firm of Level Four, accounting firm Carr, Riggs & Ingram, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the moves. LPL spokeswoman Lauren Hoyt-Williams didn't confirm or deny the OSJ's departure.

"LPL serves many types of practices as they evolve their businesses," Hoyt-Williams said in an emailed statement. "We value the strong partnerships we have with leading practices nationwide."

If the full OSJ switches to Level Four’s newly purchased IBD alongside Tomes, it would represent the fifth largest move of the year in the sector, according to Financial Planning’s tracking of industry recruiting announcements. In M&T Bank and BMO Harris, LPL has scored, by far, the two largest recruiting grabs of the year, and the firm has added more than a net 1,600 reps in the past three years to reach a record headcount of 17,672 advisors.

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LPL hasn’t lost an OSJ approaching the size of Level Four since Bill Hamm’s Independent Financial Partners left the firm in 2019 to launch its own IBD, IFP Securities. Level Four merged in 2014 with Carr, Riggs & Ingram, according to Tomes’ company bio. The firm affiliated with LPL after a five-year tenure with Lincoln Financial Network, bringing 25 advisors and 25 accounting firms and independent CPAs, the website RIABiz reported at the time.

“Since forming Level Four in 2000, it has been [Tomes’] goal to disrupt the financial services industry and to lead and embrace change,” his company bio states. “Today, Level Four’s clients have access to a diverse team of specialists focused on the delivery of independent financial advice, not exclusively nor dependent upon assets under management. This approach has allowed clients to receive objective and personalized financial advice.”

The firm’s newly acquired IBD, Mobile, Alabama-based Harbor Financial, has 96 reps and $620.9 million in AUM, according to its SEC Form ADV from March 31. Raymond James & Associates clears the firms’ securities transactions under an agreement with Harbor, the firm’s website states. Harbor is also serving as the BD affiliate of a new RIA entity launched last month by LPL hybrid enterprise Good Life Companies to offer incoming advisors a choice of multiple brokerages.