The move is one of the most substantial M&A agreements announced so far this year.

LPL Financial has acquired Mariner Advisor Network, a segment of Mariner adding $31 billion of client assets in one of the largest M&A deals this year. The financial terms were not disclosed. 

In partnership with LPL, Private Advisor Group, will acquire Mariner Advisor Network’s hybrid advisors and align those advisors under their hybrid RIA, LPL said in a statement yesterday. LPL has a minority stake in Private Advisor Group.

Mariner supports 367 financial advisors. In addition, 144 hybrid advisors will move to Private Advisor Group’s hybrid RIA model, where they will keep their multi-custody relationships and operate on the same LPL platform.

LPL is Private Advisor Group’s primary custodian and broker-dealer.

“Providing the flexibility to align the right platform to the right practice needs is a core benefit of our multi-custodian hybrid RIA offering, and we look forward to extending that capability to members of the Mariner Advisor Network,” Frank Smith, CEO of Private Advisor Group, said. “With the support of LPL, we’re well positioned to deliver thoughtful, durable solutions that reinforce supported independence now and into the future.”

LPL supports more than 32,000 financial advisors and the wealth management practices of about 1,200 financial institutions, servicing and custodying about $2.4 trillion in brokerage and advisory assets.

Founded in 1997 in Morristown, New Jersey, Private Advisor Group has more than $41.3 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2025.

As reported in February, wealth management industry transactions such as those involving RIAs clocked up another record last year, according to US-based ECHELON Partners, an investment bank and advisor that monitors the sector.

In March 2025, LPL said it had entered into a "definitive purchase agreement to acquire Commonwealth Financial Network" in a $2.7 billion cash deal. In an analysis from our US correspondent last year, that transaction signified that LPL was serious about competing not only with fast-growing Mega-RIAs such as Creative Planning, Mercer Advisors and Wealth Enhancement Group, but also wirehouses and wealth managers in the high and ultra-high net worth market such as Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan and UBS.