LPL Financial (LPL) has added a Wells Fargo Advisors team managing $185 million in Richmond, Virginia, to its ranks as the independent brokerage seeks to fill out its employee channel. 

The advisor team primarily focuses on retirement planning and is the fifth team to join the "Linsco" employee channel since it opened to recruits in August 2020. According to AdvisorHub, the Linsco channel now houses 40 employee advisors, including seven recruits across. The duo will open a new branch office for the Linsco channel that is said to have space for additional recruits. 

LPL hopes that the employee model, independent registered investment advisor (RIA) custody option, and "Strategic Wealth Services" channel will give the firm a more competitive edge over wirehouses and large RIA custodians.  

According to LPL executives, the model offers payouts that can top the roughly 50 percent that most employee firms offer and reach as much as 70 percent for teams generating over $1 million in annual revenue. 

LPL aims to eliminate some of the overhead expenses that traditional employee brokerage firms incur by avoiding field management structures, including market or complex managers. 

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