When LPL Financial closed its $2.7 billion acquisition of Commonwealth Financial Network in August 2025, the firm set a bold goal: retain the vast majority of Commonwealth's 2,900 advisors through the transition. One year later, the numbers are in, and the ripple effects are still making waves across the wealth management industry.

AdvizorPro Data Featured in the One-Year Retrospective

A joint report by AdvizorPro and Muriel Consulting tracked 654 advisor departures from Commonwealth between April and December 2025, representing roughly 22.5% headcount attrition. Of those who left, 64% moved to broker-dealers and 36% transitioned to RIAs. Financial Planning published a detailed retrospective using this data, breaking down where advisors landed and what was driving the movement. The full picture is worth a read.

For teams tracking advisor flows in real time, this is exactly the kind of intelligence covered in our RIA Recruiting Playbook.

LPL Says the Acquisition Is on Track

Despite the attrition, LPL beat both earnings and asset expectations, and executives publicly called the Commonwealth integration on track. The full onboarding of Commonwealth advisors to LPL's platform is expected to be completed in Q4 2026. FA-Mag has the details on LPL's latest earnings report and what leadership had to say about retention and momentum heading into the second half of the year.

Advisors Are Still Leaving: Minnesota and Massachusetts Move On

The departures did not stop after the deal closed. In Minnesota, Ryan Financial Group, a $750 million third-generation firm founded in 1947, exited Commonwealth and joined Cetera Financial Group. The move, covered by Citywire, is part of a broader pattern of established, culture-driven practices choosing boutique alternatives over the newly consolidated giant.

Meanwhile, on the East Coast, a six-advisor team operating as Touchpoint Financial Advisor Group in Woburn, Massachusetts, brought $682 million in client assets to Raymond James Financial Services. Citywire reported that Raymond James has acquired close to $2 billion in client assets from former Commonwealth advisors so far this year. Raymond James was the top destination for departing Commonwealth advisors overall, capturing 33% of those who left.

Want to see which firms are gaining the most ground right now? Check out our Advisor Moves report.

Kestra's Commonwealth Play Raises Questions

Kestra Financial recruited close to 130 Commonwealth advisors in 2025 alone, making it the second-largest destination for departing advisors. But the firm did not stop there. It also hired headhunters directly from inside LPL, prompting InvestmentNews to ask a pointed question: what exactly is Kestra building toward? The article explores two competing theories, and the answer matters for anyone watching the broker-dealer landscape. We will not spoil it here.

For broader context on how broker-dealers are performing and competing for advisor talent, our post on the 2026 FA-Mag IBD Survey is a good companion read.

RIA Aggregators Are Capitalizing Too

It is not just broker-dealers winning Commonwealth departures. Merit Financial Advisors, one of the more active acquirers in the RIA space, added GlennCo, LLC, a Newtown, Pennsylvania wealth management firm with $208 million in total assets. This marks Merit's fourth acquisition of a former Commonwealth practice. InvestmentNews has the full story on the deal and what it means for Merit's growing presence in the Northeast.

What the LPL-Commonwealth Shakeup Means for Distribution Teams

The movement triggered by the LPL-Commonwealth deal is far from over. With Q4 2026 integration still ahead, more advisors will be making decisions in the months to come. For asset managers, ETF issuers, and distribution teams, that means new relationships are being formed right now, at scale.

Knowing which advisors are moving, where they are landing, and what they are managing is the kind of intelligence that separates proactive distribution from reactive selling.

AdvizorPro is the advisor intelligence platform built for asset managers, ETF issuers, wealthtechs, and distribution teams that need to identify, prioritize, and engage financial advisors. With verified data across 750,000+ RIAs, family offices, and broker-dealers - combined with AI-powered lead scoring, TrafficIQ visitor intelligence, native CRM integrations, and now direct connectivity to Claude and ChatGPT - AdvizorPro powers the go-to-market strategies of leading firms across the wealth management ecosystem.

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