LPL Financial has recruited another adviser from Lincoln Financial Advisors ahead of the sale of the firm to Osaic. Brian Pflaum, a Birmingham, Ala.-based advisor with $345 million in assets, has joined LPL's agent/dealer, RIA and custodial platforms and renamed his practice TPG Private Wealth.
Lincoln National Corp. announced plans in December to sell its wealth management unit to Osaic for 700 million dollars. In a statement, Pflaum said he used the sale as an opportunity to scout the market and see if another partner would be a good fit for his business.
“With LPL, I have a partner with scale, one that is committed to investing in innovative solutions that will benefit both my practice and clients,” Pflaum said in a statement. “Now, I have access to an even wider range of products, a best-in-class technology offering and enhanced research capabilities. Additionally, I look forward to being part of a larger community of advisors to share ideas and grow my network.”
Pflaum's move follows news last week that Lubbock, Texas-based RFS Financial Securities, a Lincoln outfit with about $140 million in assets, would also join LPL. David Miller, president and managing director of RFS, said WealthManagement.com that while the impending acquisition was not the only reason for the move, it influenced the firm's decision.
In February, S&P Global Ratings published a bulletin saying Osaic's plan to buy Lincoln Wealth will not materially change the firm's leverage or debt servicing capacity. S&P estimates it will cost Osaic $1.04 billion, taking into account transaction costs and retention credits for Lincoln's advisers.
The Lincoln acquisition is expected to close in the first half of this year. This purchase comes as Osaic (which was renamed by Advisor Group in 2023) is transitioning its other b/ds subsidiary to the Osaic brand. These legacy b/ds and Lincoln Financial's wealth business are expected to fully transition to Osaic by the second quarter of 2025.
But while these acquisitions have been completed (or close to being completed), several teams have left Osaic in recent months, and some have been relegated to the LPL. Among them is based in Wisconsin Equity Design Groupwhich joined LPL from SagePoint Financial (one of the b/ds of Advisor Group/Osaic).