LPL is for sale -- in whole or part -- and Wells Fargo at least makes the list of potential buyers

LPL should have seen this coming long before the DOL ruling. Over the last few years, due to ineffective corporate positioning, numerous advisory professionals have been exploring opportunities of transitioning into the "truly" independent RIA space. Operational inefficiencies any organizational reluctance to see the obvious!

Raymond James and Wells Fargo are the most logical buyers to compliment their well established independent brokerage franchises to balance their employee business model. With the exception of those two, the independent business model has serious challenges with fiduciary duty for their brokers as there is no unifying culture with every broker being an independent free agent with their own ideas of how to do business. If LPL creates the necessary support infrastructure for fiduciary standing of their brokers, will the broker use it. If not LPL still incurs fiduciary liability. The differences between the employee and independent models are blurring. More control and compliance are required for a fiduciary construct which will be perhaps too confining for independents with a mind of their own. Importantly, RIAs with limited capital resources and know how to create scalable prudent processes and technology necessary for professional standing in advisory services may become the primary focus for independent b/ds yet they are miles away from being close to supporting fiduciary duty. The fiduciary liability independents face from their brokers rendering advice as prudent experts surely will motivate good faith effort of the b/d, but the actual counsel rendered by thousands of free agent contractors will be a challenge. SCW

Wells Fargo - does not make sense. Wells Fargo could not manage 14,000 contractors. Each and every contractor would tell Wells to take a flying leap. Anyone who suggests Wells would be a great suitor does not know the independent business.