After merger shock, LPL staff apologized to Ralph Angelo for blindside, which he now gladly accepts as first major recruit under LPL-Commonwealth combo

Ralph Angelo joined his $1.5-billion wealth firm with Commonwealth Financial Network on March 31, and learned the same day that LPL Financial was merging into his new broker-dealer.

The managing partner of Angelo Planning Group had joined Commonwealth as a direct consequence of Osaic's [formerly Advisor Group] 2023 merger with former broker-dealer American Portfolios.

“Surprise would be a good word,” he says.

Angelo adds: “We don't like change. Obviously, clients don't like change. So we didn't like getting acquired and then knowing we're going to have to move our clients again.”

Though nobody likes to be blindsided, Angelo says that LPL Financial was highly sensitive to his reaction.

“So, instantly, when the LPL merger was announced, I started getting a litany of calls from LPL,” he says. “It made us feel like a priority to retain us, make sure we were happy almost in an apologetic manner, like, ‘Gosh, we would have told you if we could have told you.’”

Consulting on options

The first call, indeed, occurred before Angelo joined LPL, according to Becca Hajjar, managing principal and chief business development officer.

“The Angelo Planning Group (APG) team, who had not yet officially joined Commonwealth, heard the news of our deal with LPL Financial directly from one of Commonwealth's business development leaders who had recruited the firm over the last three years working directly with APG to build a relationship and consult them on their options," she writes in an emailed statement. 

“In fact, APG was their first call the morning of March 31, knowing it was important to share the news before they officially joined, to ensure the team had time to make a thoughtful decision about their future,” she adds.  

"We’re thrilled they decided to move forward with Commonwealth as we partner with LPL.”

In a sense, Angelo is a canary in a bigger coal mine. 

Falling short

All of Commonwealth's hundreds of advisors are up for grabs if LPL Financial seems like a place they'd prefer not to move to, according to Philip Waxelbaum, principal with Masada Consulting, a recruiter. 

“Never before have so many pursued so few with such intensity,” he says.

"The last time I saw such a unified – but not allied attack – it was the harvesting of Bear Stearns and then-Lehman advisors in 2008. 

“[In 2025] Everyone, including LPL is doing their best to get “their share.” The short-odds bet, made by competitors, is that Rich Steinmeier will fall short in his 90% retention target.”

"Multiple ‘c-suite’ executives have shared that prediction with me directly, so it's not assumptive on my part. 

Angelo comes to similar conclusions.

Unique opportunity

"Speaking to the Commonwealth advisor community, which is interesting …  We kind of just stepped into this community, and I've had a fair amount of advisors from the upstate New York area reach out to me and kind of give my take on it.  

“They seem, you know, again, they loved the independence and uniqueness of Commonwealth, and what it, you know, has been for so long.

"But then they realized, exactly like we did, how unique of an opportunity this is, and everybody I've spoken to is 100% [sticking around].”

Angelo says he was not tempted to switch from Commonwealth despite being the subject of such a surprise. The dynamics differed from the merger that sparked his move to a new IBD from Osaic.

"When the merger was announced for American Portfolios to be acquired by Osaic, it caused us to pause and really reevaluate.  We did the, 'Okay, let's be optimistic, but let's plan for the worst-case scenario that if this Osaic merger with American Portfolios is not good for us, we better be prepared.'  

“And so we did our due diligence and Commonwealth was head and shoulders – head and shoulders – above everybody else in their customer service model.”

Case study

Indeed, LPL and Commonwealth seem up for the advisor retention challenge, Waxelbaum adds.

“LPL is prepared, well deployed and motivated to hold the line,” he says.

"Top executives, from all key LPL resources, are living in the field and meeting with Commonwealth advisors whenever an audience can be gathered. 

"They are being buoyed by strategic Fidelity custody teams who obviously have the proverbial skin in the game. This might have been a short trigger pull, but the planning appears meticulous.

"Commonwealth execs are equally well deployed, with Steinmeyer, to calm and assure the Commonwealth advisors there are no breaks in commitment or long-term plan. 

“It is quite the spectacle. Business schools will be writing this one up in case studies for years.”

Win, win

The LPL rhetoric and factors are lining up for now, Angelo says.

“Well, you look at Commonwealth's customer service model, [and] we felt like we were getting the best of both worlds with LPL's technology, resources. 

"So after the dust settled, if you will, we felt we had the best of both worlds,” he says. 

“Our clients have been great. Once they got a full understanding of what's coming down the road, they're actually getting pretty excited as well, knowing they have kind of the best of both worlds as well.”