Firms compared · Updated October 10, 2026
LPL Financial vs. Cetera: Scale, ownership and affiliation channels
The short answer
LPL Financial reported about 32,475 advisors and $2.56 trillion in client assets at June 30, 2026, while Cetera described itself as home to about 12,000 financial professionals and institutions in June 2026 and reported about $688 billion in assets under administration at June 30, 2026. LPL is publicly traded; Cetera is majority owned by private equity firm Genstar Capital. Both offer independent, hybrid RIA and W-2 employee options. After LPL agreed to buy Commonwealth, recruiters said Cetera offered Commonwealth advisors 120 to 125 basis points on platform assets, while LPL's retention packages were reported at 10 to 50 basis points.
Independent BD
- Financial advisors · Jun 2026
- about 32,4751
- Total client assets · Jun 2026
- $2.56 trillion1
- Advisory assets · Jun 2026
- $1.55 trillion (60.4% of total client assets)1
- Ownership
- Public (Nasdaq: LPLA)1
- Commonwealth acquisition
- Closed Aug. 1, 2025 ($2.7 billion); Commonwealth runs as a wholly owned unit while its advisors move onto LPL's platform13
- Mariner Advisor Network acquisition
- Completed in Q2 2026, adding 367 advisors with about $31 billion in client assets1
How advisors affiliate
- Independent contractor (traditional independent)
- Strategic Wealth Services
- Employee advisor (Linsco by LPL Financial)
- Hybrid RIA
Full LPL Financial profile and news →Independent BD
- Financial professionals and institutions · Jun 2026
- about 12,0002
- Assets under administration · Jun 2026
- about $688 billion3
- Assets under management · Jun 2026
- about $330 billion3
- Headquarters
- San Diego, Calif.4
- Ownership
- Private; majority-owned by Genstar Capital since 2018, which reinvested through a newer fund in December 2023 and remains majority investor5
- Channels
- Advisor, Institutions, Large Enterprise, Tax & Accounting, and RIA and Branches (launched June 2025)10
How advisors affiliate
- Independent contractor (1099)
- Hybrid RIA (advisor-owned RIA)
- Employee advisor (W-2 corporate RIA)
- Supported independence branches
- Large enterprises and OSJs
- Financial institutions and tax professionals
Full Cetera profile and news →Key differences
- Size: LPL reported about 32,475 advisors and $2.56 trillion in client assets at June 30, 2026. Cetera reported about 12,000 financial professionals and institutions as of June 9, 2026, and about $688 billion in assets under administration and $330 billion in assets under management at June 30, 2026.1,2,3
- Ownership: LPL is public (Nasdaq: LPLA). Cetera, based in San Diego, has been majority owned by Genstar Capital since 2018, which reinvested through a newer fund in December 2023.1,4,5
- Employee channels: LPL's Linsco channel employs advisors who run branded local practices. Cetera Planning Partners, formed April 28, 2026, is a national employee-advisor RIA with roughly $19 billion in assets.6,7
- Other models: LPL offers Strategic Wealth Services and a hybrid RIA option. Cetera offers a hybrid RIA option on its Blueprint platform, a large-enterprise channel for multi-advisor OSJs and separate channels for institutions and tax professionals.3,8,9,10
- Recruiting deals: Recruiters told WealthManagement.com in April 2025 that Cetera was offering Commonwealth advisors 120 to 125 basis points on platform assets and 25 to 50 basis points on off-platform assets; LPL offered Commonwealth advisors retention packages of 10 to 50 basis points.11,12
- Head-to-head recruiting: In August 2026 Cetera added Sierra Ridge Advisor Group, a roughly $2.1 billion OSJ that InvestmentNews described as coming from LPL.3,4
Is LPL bigger than Cetera?
Yes. LPL reported about 32,475 advisors and $2.56 trillion in client assets as of June 30, 2026. Cetera reported about 12,000 financial professionals and institutions as of June 2026 and about $688 billion in assets under administration as of June 30, 2026. Cetera's count includes institutions, so it isn't a pure advisor headcount.
Who owns Cetera?
Private equity firm Genstar Capital has been Cetera's majority owner since October 2018 and reinvested through a newer fund in December 2023. LPL is a public company.
Which pays advisors more, LPL or Cetera?
Our profiles don't support a direct comparison. LPL reported a firmwide production-based payout rate of 87.44% for the second quarter of 2026; Cetera's profile doesn't include a published payout rate.
Built only from each firm’s sourced Financial ADVSR profile; figures carry their own as-of dates and may measure different things at each firm. Not investment or career advice. Spot an error? Tell the editors.