After spending his entire career with Ameriprise, a 34-year veteran financial advisor dropped the firm for its largest independent broker-dealer rival.
Alan Kodama of Honolulu-based Pacstar Financial Group and a team of three other advisors and four office support staff across four locations in Hawaii affiliated with LPL Financial, the firm said July 12. Pacstar managed $420 million in client assets with Ameriprise. The recruiting announcement followed LPL surpassing 19,000 advisors in its headcount with assets above $1 trillion for
An acquisition by LPL and two megamoves in the bank channel drove the records, as well as the firm’s massive recruiting outreach aimed at significantly sized practices like Pacstar. Besides operating his own practice, Kodama has acquired seven others over his decades in the industry while expanding to locations in Kauai, Pearl City and Maui. The firm picked LPL out of five the team interviewed during a two-year due-diligence search, he says.
“We chose LPL because of the variety of investments and products and services for clients,” Kodama says. “The technology is great, and their home office is in San Diego. We were in contact with LPL for several years getting more information, and here we are.”
Representatives for Ameriprise, which itself unveiled a major credit union-based enterprise
He formally aligned with LPL and its corporate RIA on June 21, according to FINRA BrokerCheck. Besides Kodama, the practice includes financial advisors Thomas Lodico, John Araki and Rose Antonio. Under its new BD, Kodama aims to grow the practice further.
Asked for advice for fellow advisors considering making a practice acquisition or switching their BD, Kodama said that buyers should have “a terrific relationship” with the seller, and prospective recruits should speak with peers who are familiar with the firm and get a sense of its corporate culture and staffing levels.
In the quarter that he moved to LPL, the firm added a net 2,141 advisors to reach the industry-leading total of 19,114 managing $1.11 trillion in client assets. During the past 12 months, LPL had recruited client assets of $80 billion, including $35 billion
“With our size and scale, LPL is able to offer a breadth and depth of innovative capabilities and resources that empower independent advisors to differentiate their practices and be successful serving the evolving needs of their clients,” Scott Posner, LPL’s executive vice president of business development, said in a statement. “We look forward to providing the support and service that the entire Pacstar team needs to help build long-term value with clients and continue winning in the marketplace.”
