Broker-Dealers

Philanthropy calls: LPL’s Dwyer to exit

Long-time executive had most recently been lobbying in Washington for independent broker-dealers

LPL Financial LLC is losing Bill Dwyer, the executive who shepherded the company from a small, privately held broker-dealer to a publicly traded giant of the retail-securities industry.

Mr. Dwyer, 55, whose most recent title was president of national sales, had been lobbying in Washington for independent broker-dealers. LPL Financial president Robert Moore will assume more of Mr. Dwyer’s responsibilities in national sales.

“This is a very personal decision, and not related to anyone else at the firm,” Mr. Dwyer said in an interview last Friday.

“My wife and I decided it was time to do some new things,” including more charity and philanthropic work, he said.

To that end, Mr. Dwyer will replace Mr. Moore as chairman of the Invest in Others Charitable Foundation Inc., which supports the philanthropic and volunteer efforts of financial advisers. Each year, Invest in Others, in partnership with InvestmentNews, recognizes the charitable contributions of advisers through its Community Leadership Awards.

“Advisers are very philanthropic,” Mr. Dwyer said, adding that his aim is to highlight and expand what advisers nationwide are doing in their charitable activities.

He added that he has no desire to sit on the sidelines for a year or two and then jump to a rival broker-dealer — a common career move for many senior executives.

“I’m leaving LPL on fantastic terms,” Mr. Dwyer said.

“Far and away, if you’re going to build a wealth management platform in America, LPL’s is the best,” he said. “I won’t compete.”

NOT A SIGNAL

LPL chairman and chief executive Mark Casady said that Mr. Dwyer’s exit doesn’t signal his own imminent departure.

“I’m definitely not leaving anytime soon,” Mr. Casady said.

“My mission is to bring objective financial advice to millions of Americans, and I love building and watching this great team,” he said. “I’m very engaged.”

Mr. Dwyer’s exit is yet another change in the longtime management at LPL Financial, which became a public company in November 2010.

In May, former LPL president Esther Stearns became chief executive of a new unit focused on recruiting and training new advisers to work with less affluent investors. She was joined in that venture by former chief communications officer Kandis Bates, who was replaced last year.

Mr. Dwyer, who earned $2.7 million in total compensation in LPL’s fiscal 2011, joined the company in 1992. He was central to the campaign to recruit representatives, and LPL soon became a juggernaut.

On Mr. Dwyer’s watch, LPL routinely beat other broker-dealers in those wars, using more recruiters and offering reps bigger bonuses than its rivals.