LPL lures a TD Ameritrade talent across the San Diego street

In a bid to bolster its business consulting division, LPL Financial has spirited Michael Watson away from TD Ameritrade Institutional.

The massive San Diego- and Boston-based independent broker-dealer is making the move ahead of its national conference, which kicks off on Sunday. The newly minted senior vice president of business consulting will be on hand to meet with advisors. See: LPL opens focus11 to reporters for first time – with provisos.

Watson’s first day of work is today.

As at TD, Watson will be based out of San Diego. At LPL Financial, he will report directly to Andy Kalbaugh, executive vice president of business consulting. Watson will have direct oversight of three teams of business consultants, a total of about 30 people.

LPL dedicates one business consultant to each of its 1,400 largest advisory teams and Watson is expected to help achieve the company’s goal of establishing increased personal contact with advisors, Kalbaugh says.

“He’ll bring tremendous experience. We’re making sure we get bench strength,” he says.

Trainer of trainers

Watson was director of practice-management solutions at TD Ameritrade Institutional, an effort developed by Brian Stimpfl. Zohar Swaine, TD’s managing director of strategy, will take over his day-to-day duties and the company is undergoing a external and internal search for a permanent replacement.

Zohar Swaine will assume day-to-day control
of TD Ameritrade’s practice management effort.

“We have a very strong and stable executive team and a deep bench of talent,” says Kristin Petrick, spokeswoman for TD Ameritrade Institutional. “We are confident TD Ameritrade Institutional will continue to deliver successful practice-management solutions to help advisors grow and run their businesses.”

LPL appears to have made a savvy move in hiring Watson, says David Selig, principal of Advice Dynamics Partners of Mill Valley, Calif.

“I’ve found Mike to be a great trainer of trainers. He’s a great person to raise the business consulting game at LPL.”

Watson earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and Management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Problem solvers

Business consulting is thought to be the next frontier for RIA custodians as they work to differentiate their offerings and ensure that existing advisors experience significant organic growth and improved profitability and RIA custodians have been making a big push in that area. See: TD Ameritrade takes on Schwab with big consulting push.

Selig knows from working with Pershing Advisor Solutions TD, Schwab Advisor Services and Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services, that all these firms struggle with finding talent in the consulting realm.

David Selig: The trend and goal
of any of the custodians is
to have business consultants actually consult
with clients rather than serve [as]
a customer service person.

“You really have to be a strategist at heart rather than a tactician and combine great teaching skills and the ability to come up with solutions quickly. These skills are hard to train – especially when you have to combine it with knowledge of the advisory space.”

Ideally, business consultants – as opposed to relationship managers – proactively solve problems rather than operating in a reactive mode, Selig says.

“The trend and goal of any of the custodians is to have business consultants actually consult with clients rather than serve [as] a customer service person,” he says.

Brooke’s Note: RIABiz sources never rest. I reached David Selig on the road in Southern California after his business meetings in the L.A. area. He was cooling his heels before picking up his child at a summer camp in the vicinity. I remarked that it sounded like a long drive back to San Francisco. Dave said it’s not so bad as long as you make a few stops on the coast over the course of a couple of days. He added dryly that he had no plans for making such stops and would be heading into the teeth of Friday traffic instead.