Why is LPL’s biggest branch starting its own broker-dealer? Private Advisor Group has taken the unusual step of launching its own broker-dealer with the intention of putting it in better position to grab referrals. May 17, 2021 2 MINS LPL Financial’s largest branch office, Private Advisor Group of Morristown, New Jersey, has taken the unusual step of launching its own broker-dealer; the intention is to put the $29.6 billion RIA in a better position to grab referrals of advisers from custodians who work with registered investment advisers reluctant to be affiliated with LPL. Private Advisor Group is already a behemoth of a firm, with about 700 financial advisers and $29.6 billion in client assets. It has been an industry success story of the past decade, with its two owners, industry veterans John Hyland and Patrick Sullivan, opening the RIA in 2010.