LPL Chief Casady: I'm Staying Put

Shortly after LPL Financial announced a reconfiguration of its management team, the firm’s CEO, Mark Casady sought to reassure the industry he isn’t going anywhere.

“I’m all of 52 years old. I have a baby face. I have four children. I plan to be working for a long time,” Casady told Financial Planning.

The comment was prompted by speculation from industry expert Chip Roame, managing principal of Tiburon Strategic Advisors, who said he'd "guess" that Casady would retire in a year. That notion inspired a long and exasperated-sounding laugh from Casady.

“Every company has succession planning,” Casady said. “That’s normal. We’re a public company, so that has to be done. It’s smart talent management. I don’t think that’s a surprise or newsworthy.”

EXECUTIVE CHANGES

Earlier Friday, LPL had announced that Bill Dwyer, 55, a 20-year veteran of the firm and its head of national sales, would be leaving to pursue charitable interests, and that Robert Moore, 51, president of Institution Services, would assume Dwyer’s role as head of national sales.

Last year, Roame speculated that Dwyer and Moore were in a “two-man race” to succeed Casady.

While allowing that Moore may have moved into the successor position behind him, Casady said the moves were part of everyday contingency planning.

“We’ve got a great team of executives here,” Casady said. “What this is about is the team continuing to evolve and the company being set up for real success.”

NONPROFIT ROLE FOR DWYER

In leaving LPL, Dwyer is taking the helm of a charitable foundation that was Casady’s brainchild, replacing Moore as the nonprofit’s chairman. Founded in 2006, Invest in Others is based in Boston, where Dwyer and his wife live. Dwyer also will be active in two of his favorite causes, the Boston chapter of the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization and a mentoring program at Boston College, according to LPL.

Moore and Dwyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

Although founded by LPL and the regular recipient of funding from LPL, Investing in Others is now funded by many other B-Ds as well. Many of those contributions provide funds for charities supported by advisors from LPL and other firms nationwide.

As for Casady, he says his calling remains in his current position.

“We are on a mission to really bring objective financial advice to people,” he said. “We have no conflicting products. We are very uniquely positioned to do this. I love that mission and that’s why I’m here.”