CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Once reserved primarily only for large, more complex enterprises, LPL Financial is making hiring a Chief Financial Officer more realistic for advisory firms of all sizes and stages of growth.
CFO Essentials is the newest offering from LPL Business Solutions, which provides more than 3,500 advisors with access to a suite of outsourced services, strategic partners, and industry-leading resources to run a thriving business. The new CFO Essentials offering provides chief financial officer expertise to emerging firms and growth-minded advisors seeking executive-level strategic counsel. CFO Essentials delivers individualized financial benchmarking, budgeting, and forecasting strategies provided by experienced financial professionals.
While LPL’s flagship CFO Premium solution is designed for complex, multi-layered practices, CFO Essentials is a lower-priced, lighter-touch bundle of services providing advisors with a dedicated CFO who offers fundamental support and actionable roadmaps for optimization, growth, and efficiency. It is designed for businesses at all stages of their lifecycle, particularly those in high-growth mode who are seeking a solid financial foundation to build upon. Advisors using the CFO Premium solution have seen compelling results, including in some cases increased average annual business valuations upwards of 30%.1
“The success of the CFO Premium solution led to the introduction of CFO Essentials as an alternative for those financial professionals who want access to an accountability partner to help them grow and scale their business, but don’t require the full scope of services CFO Premium provides,” said Executive Vice President, LPL Business Solutions, Joe Lanser. “By streamlining the services into the CFO Essentials package, we can offer greater accessibility to a wider range of businesses that affiliate with LPL.”
Stephen Iaconis, CFP®, owner and advisor at Financial Advice & Consulting, LLC, a financial advisory firm located in Birmingham, Alabama, engaged the LPL Business Solutions team to implement the outsourced CFO Essentials program in January 2023 as part of a pilot rollout. Iaconis’s firm operates with several staff, including the roles of Certified Financial Planner, Director of Operations, Client Service, as well as LPL Admin Solutions. Adding CFO expertise to the team has been beneficial in supporting the firm’s current phase of growth by providing focus and clarity in areas like client segmentation, benchmarking the business, and defining staff roles while ensuring competitive compensation.
“It’s tough not to let your business run you, and playing defense is what we all naturally do in the scope of our very busy day serving our clients. The process of working with an outsourced CFO opened my eyes. I didn’t know what I didn’t know,” said Iaconis. “I knew our CRM was highly organized with a high team utilization rate, but our CFO revealed that we weren’t leveraging ClientWorks households efficiently and helped us review data to uncover better client segmentation insights. I now have a clearer view of the practice per advisor and as a team. My personal relationship with our CFO is one of the pinnacle aspects of outsourcing CFO support. Our CFO understands not just what I’m trying to achieve but what each team member at the firm needs to achieve, thus allowing us to create a targeted and united approach.”
Iaconis and his team are on track to onboard several advisors in the coming months, as well as a Support Advisor and an additional Client Service Associate, as a result of his outsourced CFO engagement. “With growth comes change, and our CFO relationship and their input has been vital this year, more than I could have expected,” added Iaconis.
The rollout of CFO Essentials comes on the heels of the release of the Build Your Extraordinary Business study developed by LPL Business Solutions, which examines the common strategies top-performing advisors use to achieve extraordinary business results. The recent research shows commonalities among how the top 10% of LPL advisors pursue success.2 Data indicates that, on average, those firms that outsource two or more core business functions, such as CFO, CMO, or administrative services, work a similar number of hours as lower-producing advisors but generate three times the revenue.
“We continue to expand our outsourcing service offerings to meet the growing demand from advisors to free up time and leverage outside thinking and insights,” added Lanser. “Advisors can access professionals in marketing, access administrative support, and offer financial planning without adding staff. What’s so compelling about the outsourcing trend is the business results advisors can achieve by taking advantage of the services.”
For more information about CFO Essentials, visit LPL Business Solutions and download LPL Business Solutions’ latest report, Build Your Extraordinary Business.
About LPL Financial
LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA) was founded on the principle that LPL should work for advisors and enterprises, and not the other way around. Today, LPL is a leader in the markets we serve, serving nearly 22,000 financial advisors, including advisors at approximately 1,100 enterprises and at approximately 550 registered investment advisor (RIA) firms nationwide. We are steadfast in our commitment to the advisor-mediated model and the belief that Americans deserve access to personalized guidance from a financial professional. At LPL, independence means that advisors and enterprise leaders have the freedom they deserve to choose the business model, services and technology resources that allow them to run a thriving business. They have the flexibility to do business their way. And they have the freedom to manage their client relationships because they know their clients best. Simply put, we take care of our advisors and enterprises, so they can take care of their clients.
1Typically, in the first quarter the advisor joins CFO Solutions, the CFO runs a valuation based on the previous year to set a baseline. Valuations are then conducted annually while the advisor stays in the program. Advisors in CFO Solutions for three years generally have four valuations and demonstrate a 29% total average annual increase in business valuation. Individual results may vary. Past performance does not guaranty future results.
2The top 10% of LPL advisors was determined by Gross Dealer Concessions (GDC) taken from commission data in 2022. Individual results may vary. Past performance does not guaranty future results.
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Throughout this communication, the terms “financial advisors” and “advisors” are used to refer to registered representatives and/or investment advisor representatives affiliated with LPL Financial.
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