Conte Wealth leaves Cambridge for LPL with $1.4 billion

The Harrisburg, Pennsylvania firm's exit from Cambridge is the latest evidence that in the independent channel, size has become the winning pitch.

By The Moves DeskWednesday, August 19 at 4:40 AM ET

Conte Wealth Advisors has been a Cambridge Investment Research affiliate. Soon it will be an LPL Financial practice. InvestmentNews reports the move: CEO Anthony 'Tony' Conte is taking the firm across. The team has 20 advisors. It manages $1.4 billion in client assets.

The firm is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. LPL has been running hot this month. PWD's tracking shows an advisor move on August 13. Another landed on August 14. Then came a move on August 15. Another followed on August 18. A separate deal was announced July 28. The Conte team is a substantial addition to that list, and it gives LPL a new outpost in central Pennsylvania.

LPL's scale is visible in regulatory filings. The RIA arm reports roughly $819 billion in assets under management to the IAPD. That base funds the technology, compliance services and advisory resources a platform can offer. It is also the figure recruiters cite when they call teams like Conte's.

A $1.4 billion team leaves Cambridge

Conte built his firm under Cambridge's independent model. The move to LPL reflects a broader definition of independence, one that can include access to a large platform. For a 20-advisor team, LPL's appeal is not just custody. It is the range of services that an $819 billion RIA can support.

The loss for Cambridge is specific. A $1.4 billion team is leaving. It has 20 advisors. That drains revenue and removes a proof point for the firm's ability to keep large producers. For an independent broker-dealer, relationships are the business; watching a team this size walk is the tangible version of a larger challenge.

The LPL advantage

LPL has been the destination for a string of moves, and this one is too large to ignore. The independent channel is splitting. Firms with LPL's size can invest in recruiting and retention, while mid-sized independents like Cambridge must lean on culture and cost. For the teams big platforms want, culture and cost don't win.

Cambridge's response will matter. Retention offers, service changes, messages to remaining affiliates—all will be read closely. LPL keeps adding. The Conte team is now part of the record its recruiters will cite. The next team to get the call will have heard the numbers before.