LPL Financial, an independent broker-dealer, has expanded its Model Wealth Portfolio platform with model portfolios from AlphaSimplex Group, JP Morgan Asset Management and Morningstar Investment Services.

At the same time, LPL has lowered account minimums for the MWP platform to $25,000, down from $100,000 at launch. The platform is a centrally managed, fee-based platform available to the firm’s advisors.

It will also now include portfolio models developed by LPL Financial Research, bringing the number of strategy contributors to the platform to eight (including the other three additions).

The new portfolios are:

·        LPL Financial Research - Absolute Return Diversified Plus, Tactical Opportunities Diversified Plus, and strategic exchange-traded product portfolios;

·        AlphaSimplex Group - risk efficient portfolios;

·        BlackRock - tactical mutual fund model;

·        JP Morgan Asset Management - global asset allocation, tax sensitive and absolute return portfolios;

·        Morningstar Investment Services - mutual fund and exchange-traded fund managed portfolios, including tax-conscious mutual fund options and absolute return model.

MWP assets under management totaled $8.7 billion as of March 31, 2012, an increase of around 73 per cent year-over-year. The platform was launched in February 2008.