In an unusual move, an LPL branch office is adding Raymond James as a broker-dealer option for its clients.  Good Life Companies, with $5 billion under management and 200 advisors, is one of the first brokerage operations to follow essentially what registered investment advisors have been doing with regard to selection of custodians.

According to Bruce Kelly, an InvestmentNews reporter, the service model for financial advisors has become increasingly fluid, with those working as advisers who charge clients fees and those who work as brokers and charge commissions overlapping into what the industry calls a "hybrid" adviser. In those cases, it is common for firms like Good Life to have various custodians that advisors can utilize to hold assets. 

But the retail brokerage environment is not as fluid. Retail advisors can only be registered with one broker-dealer at a time. For example, firms like Good Life can use other broker-dealers but only if all parties involved agree, according to industry executives. According to Kelly, industry executives have also indicated that there are also questions about compliance and supervision of sales of financial products for a dual brokerage firm. 

The Good Life Companies' new brokerage with Raymond James is not a direct relationship. Instead, Good Life expanded its brokerage business to include another broker-dealer, Harbor Financial Services, which uses Raymond James to clear and execute trades. 

According to Kelly, "It is not clear what LPL thinks about this specific change and whether it has signed off on Good Life adding Raymond James as a broker-dealer choice for the firm's advisors." 

Financial Advisor Transitions consults advisors nationwide to explore employment transition options and to preserve and protect their practice in any transition that they make.