LPL Financial has promoted Marc Cohen, an executive vice president and head of corporate strategy, to managing director of business strategy and innovation. The move follows news in October that Rich Steinmeier would leave his role as managing director and chief growth officer to serve as CEOreplacing Dan Arnold, who was discontinued for cause on October 1.
In the new role, Cohen will join LPL's management committee and continue to oversee corporate strategy. He will also be responsible for the firm's line of business and membership strategy for independent advisors, large enterprises and institutional channels. He also leads the firm's business services and innovation lab.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to continue scaling our strategies and exploring innovative ways that LPL can better serve our clients to help them embrace their entrepreneurial opportunities,” Cohen said in a statement.
Cohen joined LPL in 2018 to build the firm premium membership modelcalled Strategic Wealth Services. LPL created the unit for advisors with over $200 million in AUM from wire or full-service regional firms. The business gives these advisors a customer service model that aims to replicate the kind of support many of them received at full-service firms. This includes transition advice, helping clients onboard, securing real estate, installing technology, and setting up compliance and marketing programs.
“Respected for his independent stewardship of the advisor-brokered market, Marc's expertise elevates the experiences we bring to our clients at every stage of their business and strengthens LPL's leadership in wealth management through differentiated solutions and strategies innovative,” Steinmeier said in a statement. .
last week, LPL entered into an agreement with Arnoldindicating that he will retain about 48,000 stock options, worth a total of $12 million, after the firm fired him in early October for violating respectful workplace policies. That's at a price per share of $327.56 (the company's closing stock price on December 6).
Arnold's remaining 98,432 stock options will be forfeited, while his non-solicitation and non-compete provisions remain in place until September 30 of next year. According to LPL, the value of Arnold's stock options held is about 15% of the “total aggregate value of the employment benefits and equity awards” he would have received if he were terminated “without cause” or “for good cause “.