LPL makes 'Sixth Sigma black belt' ex-wirehouse counsel its chief legal officer, right after purchasing another full service broker. LPL says there is 'no connection,' and she was poached from Google

LPL Financial LLC rolled up its third full-service broker dealer – with 260 new salaried brokers – and its new chief legal officer comes from that world, by way of 11 years at Google.

The Fort Mill, S.C. supporter of 21,000 financial advisors advising $1.24 trillion,  announced on Tuesday that Althea Brown will have the awesome task of overseeing the effort to stay square with FINRA, the SEC and the laws of human nature.

LPL continues to deal with compliance issues, according to Barron's.

The firm agreed to a $3 million fine to settle allegations it failed to supervise brokers who were making suspicious fund transfers, siphoning millions of dollars from clients into accounts the brokers controlled.

The brokers, acting separately, engaged in schemes to transfer $2.4 million from 13 LPL clients, FINRA said. 

Beyond riding herd on legal and compliance issues, Brown may also lend her expertise to LPL's growing digital subscription services. 

LPL president and CEO Dan Arnold cited Brown's broad spectrum of experience, including holding a Six Sigma Black Belt, a managerial model Toyota uses to dominate the automobile market.

“Althea has significant experience in leading high-performing legal teams for large corporations across retail, technology and financial services,” he said in a release.

Subscription play

At Google, she oversaw a team of product and commercial lawyers advising the Fitbit and Google Devices and Services’ marketing, e-commerce, retail, customer support and the vendor management office.

That experience appears to tie-in nicely to LPL's Services Group, which has emerged as one of its fastest growing segments, and a leading “driver of organic growth," according to LPL's Q2 financial report. The group is still small in absolute terms and did not earn mention in Arnold's meeting today with Wall Street analysts

It has logged nearly 5,200 subscriptions, with broad adoption across the company, enabling $8 billion in 2022 recruited assets under management, expanding addressable markets by supporting new affiliation models.  

It's also credited with increasing client asset retention and two times faster growth among those who use the Services Group compared with those who don't. 

Her past connections to the largest wirehouse and LPL's push further into full-service brokers have “zero” connection, according to the company in an email response.

Brown was a lawyer for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney from 2006 to 2012.

Her experience on Wall Street was largely unrelated to its stockbrokers – focused on debit cards, credit cards, checks, ACH, bank deposits and agreements between the bank, affiliates, and third parties, her LinkedIn bio says.

High praise

And, she likes what she sees at LPL.

“It’s inspiring to see the firm’s dedication and commitment to developing innovative technology, services and capabilities,” she said in a release.

A former legal colleague at MSSB gave her high praise as she departed for Google. 

“Althea is a true ‘problem solver’ in the best sense of the phrase -- intelligent, knowledgeable, hard-working and creative,” wrote Bill Ryan, chief fiduciary officer at Newport Trust Company, in a LinkedIn endorsement. 

"Anyone who has the opportunity to work with her is fortunate!" 

Brown replaces Michelle Oroschakoff, who will retire this fall after a 10-year career at LPL and 30 years in the industry.

Her oversight will include Crown Capital Securities with $6.5 billion of AUA, a full-service brokerage in Orange County, Calif., that includes a highly profitable $1 billion RIA component. It charges 200 basis points on assets.

LPL previously rolled up two ther full service brokers – Allen & Co, in 2019, in Florida, and Boenning & Scattergood outside Philly.

She is moving to San Diego to be at an LPL headquarters location.