LPL Adds $4.6B Lincoln Team, $705M Merrill Duo

LPL Financial says a group of 105 advisors working with $4.6 billion assets has moved to its independent channel from Lincoln Financial, and two advisors formerly working with $705 million of assets at Merrill Lynch have moved to its high-net-worth-focused employee channel.

Pilot Financial, which formerly worked with Lincoln, is based in Greensboro, North Carolina.

“We are looking to grow our network thoughtfully and believe that working with LPL puts us on a better trajectory to attract like-minded, quality advisors to Pilot Financial,” Greg Smith, a managing partner, said in a statement.

Pilot Financial’s roots go back to the turn of the century when three small firms — Pilot Life Insurance, Lincoln National Life Insurance and Jefferson Standard Life Insurance — began growing their respective businesses.

The combined firm was founded in 2001 after a series of mergers “to support independent advisors with strategic planning, coaching, compliance and administrative assistance to help them succeed,” according to a statement.