Addition of UVEST meant to make brokerage giant bigger bank-channel player. Independent broker-dealer Linsco/Private Ledger (LPL) has agreed to buy UVEST, a Charlotte, N.C.-based third-party brokerage service provider. The idea is to meld UVEST with LPL's Financial Institution Services (FIS) unit to enhance its infrastructure, investment-product, and back-office-support offering to small- and middle-market banks and credit union service organizations.

"UVEST's industry-leading expertise in working with financial institutions and its capabilities in program implementation, marketing and sales, and high-touch customer service" are "highly complementary with the LPL organization," according to a joint LPP and UVEST press release published last week.

Bigger

LPL CEO Mark Casady says that "these strengths, paired with LPL's strong balance sheet, robust pipeline of products and services, leading-edge operational support, and technology infrastructure will allow the combined organization to offer the industry's most comprehensive programs."

The companies are keeping quiet about financial details of the transaction. Boston- and San Diego-based LPL reckons the deal will double its FIS unit's annual sales, which came in at about $100 million in 2005, a bit less than a tenth of LPL's total receipts last year.

UVEST will keep its name continue to operate from its Charlotte headquarters. Dan Arnold, formerly UVEST's president and COO, becomes its CEO and head of LPL FIS. He reports to Casady, who takes over as UVEST's chairman from the firm's founder John Robison, who is slated to retire.

Arnold emphasizes the cultural affinities between UVEST and LPL. "From our highly complementary strengths to our passion for empowering our advisors to be successful, UVEST and LPL share similar values, cultures, and strategic objectives," he says.

However complementary their cultures may be in fact, the businesses themselves certainly look similar. UVEST and LPL FIS provide technology, manpower, investment products and planning services to community banks, regional banks and credit unions. Their product-and-service rosters runs to insurance and mutual funds, equity and fixed-income investments (including separately managed accounts), estate planning and trusts, college funding and retirement planning.

The addition of UVEST gives LPL FIS another 230 staffers, most of them on the eastern seaboard. -FWR

.