Paxson Aiv
map-marker Tucson, Arizona

Where is my money?

One week ago today, I initiated a last minute trip to the Middle East and needed to quickly sell some stock for the trip. Per a phone message, my advisor was not available and I was referred to a Justin Jolly.

Jolly's message said that he was out of the office until Sept 21 (This was Mon, Sept 28) and to leave a message or call an 800 number for someone else. I left a message. He called the next day and initiated a sell order that he said would complete that day and be electronically deposited in my bank by Friday. (Why so long?)

On Friday, I checked my account and found no deposit.

30 minutes before they closed, I called the bank and was told, there were no pending deposits. I called Jolly. He said that he "forgot" to initiate the transfer and completed it while I was on the phone. (I am not going to be able to make the Saturday flight.) It did not make it to my bank that day.

I called my bank on Saturday (They open until noon on Sat.) NO PENDING DEPOSIT. On Monday morning, I again found no deposit. I called JOLLY. His machine still said that he was out of the office until Sept 21.

(Nice attention to detail?) I called the customer service number in San Diego. They said that the funds would go out, TODAY(?), and could not explain why it takes seven days after a sale to get MY money disbursed to me. I cannot make the Monday flight!

Now, I am scheduled for Friday. Anyone willing to bet on not having to reschedule?

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Loss:
$560
Reason of review:
Poor customer service

Preferred solution: Since the "sold" stock had increased from 17.13 to 17.61, while my funds are in your position, I am requesting the $560 increase be sent to me.

Anonymous
map-marker Winter Park, Florida

I have been trying to move Non-traded REITS for over a year to new BD

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I am an advisor that was formerly with LPL. I am now at a new broker dealer (Thank God). I have been trying to transfer several non-traded REIT's and BDC's to the new custodian. To date it has been over a year. I have sent the paperwork to LPL at least a half a dozen times. Each time I call LPL I get a different answer on why the securities havent transferred. As I type this I have been on the phone for 41 minutes. If the securities dont transfer with this attempt I am going to file a complaint with FINRA.
View full review
Loss:
$1000
Pros:
  • Lot of invesments to offer
Cons:
  • Back office is horrendus
Reason of review:
Order processing issue

Preferred solution: I want someone from the Alternate Investment group that knows what they are doing to contact me to transfer my accounts. I want one person to deal with.

Anonymous
map-marker New York, New York

Lpl Financial - Account Review from New York, New York

My name is Michael. I have done biz in the past but now have a " wrap account " which I feel is a total waste of time.

I was told by my agent there was a few if .25 - four times a year. My first charges were almost 600 dollars. BUT based on my next charges(((. I had shy of 500k in there and fee was 1762.00.

Should have been 1,250.00. I went to branch office. The assistant (( as my advisor blew me off )) and he tried to explain. Not well.

Sadly- I do not blame him as feel he was not trained So now I am trying to get my money out and cannot get back into my checking. After this weekend, I will write names of advisors, and assistant as well.

I am so sad to feel a 500k customer is not valued. Really even if I was a 10k dollar customer

Very sad.

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Reason of review:
Problems with payment
1 comment
Guest

Thanks for sharing. I have a little over $600k in my account NOW and HAD $685k in my account a year ago when I started with them. I am currently looking to move my money before they lose it all!!

Anonymous
map-marker Newark, Delaware

LPL Inadequate staff to handle investment updates

The systems that LPL had in place to review trading activity in customer accounts are plagued by “multiple deficiencies,” The firm fails to generate proper anti-money laundering alerts, for instance, and did not deliver trade confirmations in 67,000 customer accounts. These figures are staggering. Contacting a representative is virtually impossible. Forget about emailing them as they don't post any email addresses. My account is never updated and I am left in the dark as to what is in place and what is not. For a big investment company it is obvious that they are under staffed. I am waiting for Tax time when they have to send out tax information. The IRS will have a field day if they are not up to their standards or should I say laws? It is unheard of, in this high tech world, to have these practices in place with no signs of fixing it. I am distressed thinking about my investments being on unsecured ground.
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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
Anonymous
map-marker Aurora, Colorado

Antiquated procedures and leaves client with helps feeling. It's not LPL's money - quit acting like it's not the client's because that is clearly the mindset and it shows.

I am having a very similar experience with LPL. I don't think it is necessarily the Broker's fault, but if they have to sell stock to liquidate to cash to disburse then there needs to be federally regulated deadlines that require a certain, reasonable timeframe in getting that done.

This has been an ongoing problem and almost delayed the closing of our new hone purchase. I have never felt like the over $500k I have invested with them was actually my money once they took it over. Whenever I needed to pull anything out I felt like I was having to ask permission and then I would usually get the runaround on getting stock sold and turnaround time on it being wired back was almost never reasonable.

This company clearly has a problem in that area and it's going to grow into a larger one if someone would just have the balls to expose what's going on. In the meantime I am pulling out my entire portfolio next week and moving it elsewhere - where it's my money and I don't answer to them, but the other way around.

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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
Anonymous
map-marker Jacksonville, Florida

LPL - Commission based Variable Annuities - Trust Accounts

My opinion, the rot at LPL goes to the top of their corporate structure, specifically their legal department. According to my understanding, an LPL adviser engaged in an illegal conflict of interest where a vulnerable adult was key to the sales process. The account involved was a trust account. The vulnerable adult is my mother.

The adviser converted over half of the assets to commission based variable annuities that paid him commission. The LPL adviser and his corporate partners at Private Trust, which is an LPL "affiliate," took significant steps to keep their actions hidden - using deception, misrepresentation, and lack of disclosure. The annuities multiplied the fees applied to trust assets several times over. And there is no guarantee of tax deferral on the annuities which were presented as being tax deferred.

When I made my complaint to LPL, rather than admit their wrong doing, they made threats towards me - saying they would sue if I continued to file complaints with regulatory agencies. My mom was eventually maneuvered into a completely ridiculous settlement offer that included stipulated damages for any breach of confidentiality. It seems like LPL will go to great lengths to keep their misdeeds under the cover of darkness. And you will have to contend with an army of corporate lawyers if you have a complaint against one of their "independent" advisers. Nevertheless I did send my sworn affidavit to the Florida Department of Financial Services - and not much happened - except for a nice letter stating they were not saying that my complaint did not have merit. Last time I checked, the guy was still in business. Could this be because the regulated often become the regulators - and vice versa - in a revolving door situation?

On a positive note LPL was a significant contributor to the campaign of Eric Cantor, who recently lost to Dave Brat in Virginia. Cantor had something like $5,000,000 in his campaign fund, and Brat only had $200,000 or so. Thanks to the internet, and sites like lpl-financial.pissed consumer.com - folks seem to be waking to the evils of corporate influence in government.

Labor Unions are the biggest contributors to political campaigns and they give mainly to Democrats. The financial services industry is the second biggest contributor, and they spread it around pretty much evenly, to everyone Democrats and Republicans. Wonder why they do that? Could it be to gain corporate influence with government? There are numerous websites that will give you the names of Federal Candidates who received political donations from LPL. If I was one of those candidates, I would return the money.

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1 comment
Guest

Thanks so much for posting this review!

I received a call from my mother (78) who is currently with Merrill Lynch, and her financial advisor there is leaving to go to LPL - and has asked my parents to move their accounts over with him.

I've been doing research - and exactly what you've described is what I thought to myself was possible after reading over the "freedoms" that LPL financial advisors have there versus at other larger brokerage firms.

Besides wondering how ethical it is for an advisor to take his clients with him as he leaves the firm, the changes that the advisor has the ability to make that benefit him and not my parents (as what occurred with your mother) is of grave concern. I checked NASDAQ to see how LPL was doing versus Merrill Lynch, and while their shares are trading higher at the moment - I am reticent to advise my parents to go with an "independent" broker at this stage in their lives.

Thanks for the sharing your mothers experience!

Anonymous
map-marker Mount Laurel, New Jersey

Inappropriate broker

I live in Santa Cruz, CA, my broker was David De la Rosa. Stay away from this guy.

He does not listen to his clients. I wanted to have low risk and slow growth. I lost 10% of my IRA in 2 months. when I called him, he was yelling at me and blaming me for not paying attention.

Constantly calling me "sweetie" and speaking disrespectfully and yelling at me for not listening. I am outta of LPL financial.

Stay away from brokers with home offices, who want you to come over for an Economics 101 lesson. He topped off our conversation by telling me that his 80 year old investors are more comfortable with risk than me.

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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
Anonymous
map-marker Lockport, Louisiana

Lpl Financial Roth Ira Review from Lockport, Louisiana

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LPL Financial will sell annuities to people under the age of forty, using Roth IRA money to fund it. Read up on annuities before letting someone from this firm lie about the fees even when ask. A lot of the fees are hidden and you need to know where to look to see what you are actually being charged. They will try to sell you on a annuity by telling you only the good points. I know now they really aren't any for the vast majority of investors. All they want is the high fees that are charged to pay their bills. You have been warned, do a little research yourself and you will see what I am talking about.
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Reason of review:
Not as described/ advertised
Anonymous
map-marker Long Beach, New York

HOME OFFICE

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While I found my personal LPL rep adequate the back office is difficult to deal with. As I write this I am on hold...waiting for the next available representative....for 16:41 now. I am in the process of transferring two of my holdings to another brokerage and LPL is rejecting the requests, after i've filled out the transfer forms. The refusals are given without giving the other brokerages a reason. LPL has not contacted me in regard to the transfer, has not sent any paperwork, asked for any clarification or done anything but refuse the transfers without saying why. Obviously, they are aware of my intention to transfer. Obviously they are delaying the process by refusing without telling us why. Of course, as long as these holdings remain at LPL I am paying the quarterly fee. Hmmmm?
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Pros:
  • rep was competent
Cons:
  • After 28 min
  • Back office difficult
  • Back office
Reason of review:
Poor customer service

Preferred solution: Deliver product or service ordered

1 comment
Guest

Ditto with my account. I am on my third round of documentation and LPL is dragging out this process.

LPL is awful and I am spreading the word as much as I can to avoid dealing with them.

Anonymous
map-marker Wandsworth, England

Other Product Review

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Andy Wayne Kalich is a thief, a deadbeat and not someone who does the right thing. Stay away from this person. Far away.
View full review
Reason of review:
Poor customer service
Anonymous
map-marker Southbury, Connecticut

SAM ACCOUNT AT LPL

WITH $137,000.00 INVESTED I MADE $969 IN DIVIDENDS MY BROKER MADE $1660 IN FEES!!! STRATEGIC ASSET MANAGEMENT FUND WAS INAPPROPRIATE BECAUSE I WAS NOT A LARGE ACCOUNT HAD NO NEED FOR "MANAGEMENT " WHICH MADE THE BROKER TWICE AS MUCH AS THE CLIENT I WAS PUT ALSO INTO A MARGIN ACCOUNT FOR PURPOSES OF "OVER DRAFT" BUT THE ACCOUNT HAD NO CASH RESERVE AND THE BORROWING FEES FROM LPL WERE OVER @1,000.00 A YEAR AT THE SAME TIME THE BROKER WAS CHARGING ME FOR LOANS HE WAS "REINVESTING' THE DIVIDENDS FROM THE ACCOUNT AND NOT AT MY REQUEST BROKER RCHARD G DRAGOTTA
View full review
Loss:
$10000
Reason of review:
LOSS OF FUNDS

Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution

Eeshan Jpp
map-marker Tulsa, Oklahoma

Someone made money

But it wasn't me. Rolled a $20,971.24 IRA into an LPL fund in April, 2013. By June 31, 2015, when I pulled it to move to another firm, the IRA was worth $19,405.43. When it landed into the new account, 8 days later, it was worth $19,270.44. LPL charged me $18 per month to lose my money, and $134.99 to transfer it to a more reputable firm. In two years, I lost $1,700.80, or 8.1 percent of my little IRA. LPL made $574.49. In Tulsa, OK, local LPL trader has a radio show on investing. Made sense and I bought into it. Words were not backed up by deeds.
View full review
Loss:
$1700
Pros:
  • That they were in town
Reason of review:
you are shysters

Preferred solution: Deposit the $574.99 LPL made off me to my new account at Vanguard

Anonymous

Rolled to a new IRA

I as invested in an IRA account with medium risk. I made a quarter...0.25 cents over one year. They slapped me with 2 annual fees of 40$ and $150 fee to transfer my money out. When I opened the account I made sure to ask what fees I would incur if I wanted to transfer. Throughout my investment with them they were impossible to work with. The only way they're keeping their doors open is by lying. This is one of the worst banking companies I have come across and I am left feeling very taking advantage of.
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Anonymous
map-marker New York, New York

Overnight Delivery Review

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Very poor service ,lack of communication.requested an overnight delivery of my funds .they sent it regular mail ..I'm Delighted I no longer have to deal with this poorly run company..no one let me know it was not overnighted as I requested
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Reason of review:
Not as described/ advertised
Anonymous

Fake Engagement at LPL

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The engagement efforts at LPL are false and a disservice to it's employees. I attended a "Quarterly Leadership Meeting" for the operations supervisors and above. These meetings are supposed to be about engagement, teamwork and motivating junior leadership. Prior to the start of the meeting Mark Ehlers and Brad Hearn (both Senior Vice Presidents) were having a hushed conversation. During the course of their conversation Brad Hearn made a statement that my colleague and I could clearly hear...Mr. Hearn stated "I could give a *** about engagement right now". This clearly shows the false rhetoric being preached by the senior leadership at LPL.
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Reason of review:
Poor senior leadership
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