LPL Financial LLC (“LPL Financial”) has closed its acquisition of the wealth management business of Crown Capital Securities, L.P. (“Crown Capital”), a full-service broker-dealer and registered investment advisor headquartered in Orange County, California. The purchase agreement was signed on July 21, 2023, and the transaction officially closed on April 16, 2024.
This strategic move empowers Crown Capital to preserve its independence and innovative spirit while benefiting from seamless access to LPL Financial's cutting-edge technology and comprehensive advisor platform.
Crown Capital was founded in 1999 and has stood firm on the principle that financial advisors deserve the autonomy to craft their practice according to their vision. Guided by this philosophy, Crown Capital's advisors specialize in delivering tailored, personalized services to their clients. These encompass a wide range of offerings, including investment management, estate planning, risk management, education planning, corporate benefits, full-service brokerage and alternative investments.
“Since the inception of Crown Capital Securities, our ambition has been to offer best-in-class experiences to our advisors built upon our unique family culture and their clients while sustainably growing our business for the future,” said Jonathan L. French, president and chief marketing officer of Crown Capital. “Through LPL, we can take both goals to the next level. I am extremely proud of our accomplishments and am excited about this next chapter of our journey.
“We relied on Warner as our trusted counsel in this transaction for their experience in our industry and their sound judgment in negotiating key issues in the deal. We appreciate the proactive communication we received from the Warner team, led by Linda Paullin-Hebden and John Muhs. They were an integral part of our deal team and gave us the peace of mind that we were well-represented from start to finish.”
As of May 7, 2024, approximately $1.6 billion of brokerage and advisory assets served by approximately 125 advisors have been onboarded to LPL. The remaining approximately $3.4 billion of assets are expected to onboard over the next several months.
Warner served as legal counsel to Crown Capital, representing the company in the negotiation and documentation of the transaction. The Warner transaction team was led by Linda Paullin-Hebden and John Muhs and included Sean Cook, Shane Hansen, Steve Palazzolo and Mohamad Knio.
Warner’s Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Practice Group
As part of one of the largest and most successful law firms in Michigan, Warner’s M&A Practice Group draws upon more than 90 years of experience to successfully and efficiently handle a wide range of M&A transactions for both private and publicly traded businesses, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and strategic business combinations of all types.
Warner’s Funds and Investments Industry Group
As the only firm in the state of Michigan focused on the unique legal and compliance needs of investment advisers and broker-dealers, Warner regularly represents investment advisers in all of their legal needs from guiding clients through the regulatory process to supporting our clients in acquisition or divestiture. Warner’s unique knowledge of the investment adviser industry ensures that Warner attorneys will safely steer you through every aspect of the investment adviser regulatory or transactional landscape.
