Investors are jumping on LPL Financial Management’s initial public offering debut. At midafternoon on Wednesday, shares were up 8% at $32 plus change. (This, compared this to the 6% increase in GM’s IPO.) According to CNN, the Boston-based brokerage service and private equity backers TPG and Helllman & Friedman may make than $450 million from the deal.
LPL provides research, technology, and financial services to 12,000 independent financial advisers in small and medium-sized shops. This allows them to provide services, including financial advice that is supposed to be free from conflict or bias, to retail investors. Seeing as there have been so many alleged incidents recently reported of bankers trying to earn fees by pressing clients to take part in certain deals, LPL says in its IPO prospectus that it make sense that today more investors are drawn to independent advisers. The brokerage service company also says that over the last decade, as rich individuals and brokers have started to question the benefits of dealing with the larger banks, its broker clientele as gone up at a 13% compound annual rate.
That said, the investment adviser system-whether involving independent advisers or those with ties to investment banks-is far from perfect. As Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas LTD LLP founder and securities fraud lawyer William Shepherd points out, “We have seen a number of complaints regarding LPL which seemed to stem from failure to supervise. Perhaps this is because LPL has so many advisor/agents in one or two person offices having somewhat detached contact with their supervisor(s). It was recently reported that LPL may have sought to hire another firm to handle its supervisory duties.”
LPL CEO Mark Casady and President COO Esther Stearns are expected to make millions from the IPO-almost $58 million for Casady and $35.1 million for Stearns. LPL executive William Dwyer could make $8.24 million, while the shares that General Counsel Stephanie Brown plans to sell could make her $3.77 million.
Related Web Resources:
LPL Financial IPO outpaces GM, CNN Money, November 18, 2010
LPL Executives Likely To Reap Millions In Public Offering, The Wall Street Journal, November 18, 2010
LPL Investment IPO Faces Struggle, The Street, November 15, 2010
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