– Newly Launched Independent Advisory Practice, Led by Veteran Retirement Plan Specialist, Focuses on Retirement Planning and Wealth Management for Professional Service Firms and Business Owners –
– Firm Joins LPL Financial Broker-Dealer Platform and Aligns with IFP and Pensionmark Retirement Group for RIA Platform and Retirement Plan Support –
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 9, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LPL Financial LLC, the nation's largest independent broker-dealer, an RIA custodian, and a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA ), today announced that Wellspring Advisor Group, LLC, a newly launched independent financial advisory firm led by John E. Carroll, has joined the LPL Financial broker-dealer platform. A dually registered independent financial advisory firm, Wellspring has also aligned with the registered investment advisor (RIA) platform of Independent Financial Partners (IFP) to provide support services for Wellspring's fee-based financial advisory business. In addition, Wellspring has also aligned with Pensionmark Retirement Group, which provides a wide range of retirement-plan administrative and fiduciary support services. As of Nov. 1, 2014, John Carroll had more than $130 million in brokerage and advisory assets.
"We are enthusiastic about affiliating with LPL Financial and bringing to our clients the significant benefits of a truly independent financial advisory practice," said John Carroll, CEO of Wellspring Advisor Group. "We appreciate LPL's culture of independence and its open architecture framework, which enable us to provide our clients with unbiased financial advice. Over the past few years our business has gained tremendous momentum, and we anticipate that our new LPL partnership will greatly accelerate our ability to accommodate further growth in the Gulf Coast region and to support our clients' needs."
Steve Pirigyi, executive vice president of business development at LPL Financial, said, "We are very pleased to welcome Wellspring Advisor Group to LPL Financial. We have known John Carroll for a long time, and he has gained impressive credentials in the financial advisory and retirement planning arena. By affiliating with LPL Financial, John has been able to establish a truly independent advisory firm, and Wellspring will be able to access the full range of resources it requires in order to provide its rapidly growing client base with complete fiduciary retirement planning and wealth management services."
Carroll is a veteran to retirement planning with nearly 30 years of experience in the financial services industry who has earned multiple professional designations, including C(k)P®, ARPC®, CRPC® and AAMS®. In addition to his many years as a financial advisor, Carroll was part of the executive start-up team that launched Wellspring Resources, which became one of the largest retirement plan outsourcing companies in the nation, in a joint venture with State Street Bank of Boston in 1996.
Wellspring will focus primarily on providing fee-based retirement planning services to privately-owned professional service firms, as well as retirement planning and wealth management services to business owners. Wellspring's clients have included physicians, lawyers, accountants and engineers, mainly in Louisiana and Mississippi. Joining Carroll at Wellspring are two additional professionals in a non-advisory capacity, to assist with client services and operations management.
Louis Hanna, director of recruiting for Independent Financial Partners, said, "We are delighted to have John Carroll join the Independent Financial Partners family. John is a perfect example of one of the many breakaway advisors who have recognized the benefits and attributes of IFP's multi-custodial hybrid RIA platform as a destination for their high-net worth advisory practices. IFP, along with our partners Pensionmark Retirement Group and LPL Financial, has an established history of providing elite advisors such as John with comprehensive and robust technology-enabled support that best helps them meet the wealth management and retirement needs of their clients."
Troy Hammond, president and CEO of Pensionmark, said, "Carroll's vision, experience and commitment to excellence fit perfectly with our culture. We are excited to welcome John and his team to the Pensionmark ® family."
In addition to holding a full complement of professional licenses and designations, Carroll is an active member of his community. He serves as a commissioner for the City of Alexandria (La.) CURE Commission, is a commissioner on the Greater Alexandria Economic Development Authority and was appointed by Louisiana Governor Jindal to serve on the board of directors of the Louisiana Utility Restoration Corporation. Carroll was also elected to the board of directors of the Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum and currently serves as president-elect.
*Based on total revenues, Financial Planning magazine, June 1996-2014
About Wellspring Advisor Group, LLC
Wellspring Advisor Group, LLC, provides comprehensive retirement planning and wealth management services to professional service organizations and business owners, primarily on a fee-only advisory basis. The firm was founded in 2014 by John E. Carroll, CEO, a financial services industry veteran with over a decade of financial advisory experience and more than 25 years of working in the retirement services industry. With extensive experience in the strategy, design, investment policy and administration of both qualified and non-qualified retirement plans and private wealth management, Carroll was part of the executive start-up team that built one of the largest retirement plan outsourcing companies in the nation at the time. Based in Alexandria, La., Wellspring strives to be a recognized leader in wealth management and retirement consulting in the Gulf Coast region, and to build a presence at the national level.
About IFP
Independent Financial Partners (IFP) is a SEC-registered investment adviser based in Tampa, Fla. Operating on LPL's hybrid RIA platform, IFP is a multi-custodial RIA focused on delivering, concierge-level service to its 500 advisors nationwide who specialize in wealth management and retirement plan consulting. As a whole, the IFP advisor community oversees more than $5 billion in assets under management and more than $30 billion in assets under advisement. www.ifpartners.com .
About Pensionmark
With national headquarters in Santa Barbara, Calif., the Pensionmark Retirement Group network represents more than 150 advisors and staff among 35 locations across the country with approximately 2,000 retirement plan clients. Pensionmark's network of retirement specialists include defined contribution, defined benefit and terminal funding, not-for-profit, wealth management, and executive/deferred compensation specialists.
About LPL Financial
LPL Financial, a wholly owned subsidiary of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA ), is a leader in the financial advice market and serves $465 billion in retail assets. The Company provides proprietary technology, comprehensive clearing and compliance services, practice management programs and training, and independent research to more than 13,900 independent financial advisors and more than 700 banks and credit unions. LPL Financial is the nation's largest independent broker-dealer since 1996 (*based on total revenues, Financial Planning magazine, June 1996-2014), is one of the fastest growing RIA custodians with $84 billion in retail assets served, as of September 30, 2014, and acts as an independent consultant to more than 40,000 retirement plans with approximately $110 billion in retirement plan assets served. In addition, LPL Financial supports approximately 4,400 financial advisors licensed with insurance companies by providing customized clearing, advisory platforms and technology solutions. LPL Financial and its affiliates have 3,397 employees with primary offices in Boston, Charlotte, and San Diego. For more information, please visit www.lpl.com .
Securities and Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial. A Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC
Investment advice offered through Independent Financial Partners (IFP), a registered investment advisor. Wellspring Advisor Group, IFP and Pensionmark are separate entities from LPL Financial.
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LPL Financial Media Contact Lauren Hoyt-Williams 980-321-1232
