LPL keeps advisors abreast of careening markets at focus11 conference

Brooke’s Note: If you’re going to throw a big conference for financial advisors during a market crisis, you can’t expect them to live by Blackberry alone. Apparently, LPL recognized that.

At 7:15 a.m. on Monday, 300 advisors at LPL’s focus11 conference crowded into a room to hear industry insights from the company’s research team. An hour later, advisors cheered when LPL became the second company this year to open the Nasdaq remotely. See: What’s behind LPL’s decision to slash its ticket charges for advisors.

Those cheers didn’t last long. As the market rapidly spiraled into all-day free-fall, with the Dow Jones Industrial average plunging 635 points, it became crystal clear that attending traditional advisory training sessions would take a distant second place to getting pertinent information about the markets.

To keep advisors abreast of the volatile situation, LPL Financial added 200 computers for advisors to use as well as additional television screens. Company leaders will also announce market updates throughout the conference, says Bill Dwyer, president of national sales and marketing.

Strange times

“While we look forward to the beginning of the trading day this is a very unique experience. We find ourselves in highly unusual times,” Dwyer said on Monday morning minutes before the markets opened.

The company will continue to hold its research meetings every morning at 7:15 a.m. On Monday morning, the research update was so jam-packed that advisors standing and sitting on the floor. Some couldn’t hear what was being said and walked away.

By Tuesday morning, the Dow Jones appeared to have gained some ground, rising more than 200 points.

“One of most valuable things you do for your clients is attend these kinds of things,” Dwyer says. “It’s times like these where you have to continually show your value to clients.”

See: LPL opens focus11 to reporters for first time – with provisos.