The LPL and PGA of America Partnership: A New Playbook for Advisor Brand Building

Matt Enyedi [00:03] Hello everybody and welcome to a very special episode of If You Could with Matt and Taryn. Taryn, how are you? Hey.

Taryn Huett [00:08] Doing good.

Matt Enyedi [00:09] Not only doing good, doing great. We are not in our usual home studio of San Diego, California, but instead we are recording from the PGA of America headquarters in beautiful Frisco, Texas and Taryn, this is

Taryn Huett [00:20] Cool. It is cool. We're in this studio and it feels like we're on the set of a today show. And speaking of this location, the facilities are pretty epic. I mean, how cool that we get to practice with some PGA pros this morning.

Matt Enyedi [00:33] Yeah, my swing needs a lot of work.

Taryn Huett [00:36] You know, I don't wanna brag, but after 15 minutes of instruction from one of the world's best teachers think I've decided I'm gonna go pro

Matt Enyedi [00:43] At what? At golf.

Taryn Huett [00:44] You saw that first chip. I think I'm a natural.

Matt Enyedi [00:47] I gotta admit, you looked pretty good. The form was solid, contact was crisp, but you are way ahead of yourself. You have years of suffering before you can go pro.

Taryn Huett [00:54] Okay, so maybe I need a little bit more practice, but this place has definitely gotten me inspired. But the real reason we're here is to dive into our recently announced partnership with the PGA of America and explore the many ways that this partnership will benefit our clients.

Matt Enyedi [01:08] And here in Frisco, we're not only at the home of the PGA of America, we're also at the site of the 2027 PGA championship, the first time in Texas in almost 50 years. And earlier today we met with the leadership team here and talked about this partnership, how we're gonna begin activating in 2027, all in an effort to expand the LPL brand and further credentialize our advisors partnership with us. And we

Taryn Huett [01:30] Couldn't come all this way without recording an episode of the pod with not just one, but two of the key players in this partnership, CEO of the PGA of America, Terry Clark and our very own chief marketing officer, Christa Carone. Terry's gonna tell us all about the PGA of America from its roots and values and how he's thinking about the future of this organization as well as golf itself. And we'll also hear about his own origin story because while he's been connected to the PGA for a few years, he's just hit his first a hundred days as CEO. Totally

Matt Enyedi [02:03] Exciting. And Terry, along with our own personal, what if you could visionary behind the brand strategy. Christa are gonna tell us all about how this partnership came to be and all of the exciting things to come.

Taryn Huett [02:13] Let's go meet up with Terry and Christa and dive in.

Matt Enyedi [02:15] Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to if you could, Terry Clark, welcome to if You Could. Thanks for

Taryn Huett [02:26] Having me. Appreciate it. We are excited to have you today. Well, I'm excited

Matt Enyedi [02:29] To be here with you. We've got a lot to talk about today, so we wanna dive into it and we're certainly gonna spend time on you because you are almost brand new in your role as CEO of PG of America. But I wanted to take a step back first and talk about the PGA of America because look, I'm actually a Gulf enthusiast. Before our, our partnership began wasn't really sure what the PGA was and how it differed from the PGA tour or how it differed from the USGA. And now that I've learned it is very different and I think it's even more powerful of a partner for LPL because of what you, you guys do and what you represent.

Terry Clark [03:00] Yeah, well appreciate that and and uh, your confusion is shared by a lot. I have this conversation with my mom all the time, , trying to explain the PGA of America and the PGA tour and everywhere else it's a different ecosystem than you have in a lot of other sports and I actually think it's one that works really, really well. But most people don't necessarily roll around in the governance of golfs. Yeah. They might not understand. But PGA tour has a very different role than the PGA of America, although we used to be together until the late sixties. And the PGA tour does a lot of those weekly tour stops that you see each and every day on your television. And then you go to the PGA of America and it's, we're really different. We are a member based organization, 30,000 PGA professionals that wake up every day are in facilities all over this country, helping to teach and coach lead in different parts of their organizations, uh, people in the world of golf.

Terry Clark [03:48] So they're, I always say I heard from, from someone I first came in, they're the CEO of golf in their local zip code. Yeah. And, uh, so different. And at the same time, we help manage some of the greatest assets in professional golf. So the PGA championship, one of the majors, the Ryder Cup in our team, USA around that, the KPMG, women's PGA championship, the senior PGA championship and more, you know, kind of in our DNA, we're helping to help members really have impact in their local communities, help the game grow and help at a championship level. And then you've got golf's governing bodies. The USGA helps make the rules of golf. It also helps, uh, run the US open, which most people know of. And, and then you've got the RNA, which does that governing body outside of the us. So all these different parties really coming together, all with a focus around how can we make golf better.

Matt Enyedi [04:37] You said something earlier when we were talking, which really struck me, which is the PGA of America is the representative of the recreational golfer. There are a few hundred professional golfers, a few dozen who we know by name. But the reality is, is the vast majority of golfers will never be known because of their golf. And you guys represent them every single day and you promote the sport and you develop the folks who help us hopefully get better.

Terry Clark [05:00] That's absolutely right. So tens of millions of people in this country play golf and they do it with a love of the game. They certainly, some of those are attracted to the professional game and we love that. Yeah. And how they engage, but different from other sports. If you're an NFL fan, most people I'm not going out and playing a lot right on the weekends. So this is something that people enjoy it and connect with it both in the recreational game and and many of them on a professional level as well. And an interest from a fan standpoint.

Matt Enyedi [05:27] I think the partnership as we get to know each other more is so neat. 'cause you talk about these 33,000 golf professionals, which you represent, which you help develop not too dissimilar to the 30,000 plus financial advisors that LPL represents supports, helps develop and making sure that they're delivering great outcomes for the members of their communities. And I, I couldn't get more excited about so many of the similarities as we get to know each other and start to work with one another.

Terry Clark [05:52] Yeah, I mean it really is. And you say that and you get, oh, I'm trying to read into it too much. But you really are, we have more than 30,000 professionals that are in their communities really as the coaches and connection to helping people get the best outta what they're trying to do. And that's play the game of golf and you look at LPL and what a financial advisor does and at that core, these are professionals that are at the top of their game helping to coach others.

Taryn Huett [06:17] So we talked about the incredible reach of the PGA of America and a history that spans over a hundred years. But I wanna shift us a little bit to your own personal story. Sure. I mean, you've been on this journey with the PGA as a board member for a couple years and just recently this year you became the CEO. I'd love for you to take us back on how that connection with the PGA of America got made and really what drew you to the organization.

Terry Clark [06:43] Yeah, well thank you. I mean, just to again, kinda state a little bit what you said. I've new to the role as CEO but not new to the organization. I had a couple of years on the board. We have a really interesting impactful board that has three independent directors and the rest of them are PGA members that, you know, are serve and are part of helping to serve the PGA of America to be better in the future. So I had this great role of being an independent director and really getting to see the organization and hopefully help from an outside perspective, my career has not been in golf. My career more in corporate America, what I always found is that, uh, if you really focus around product and experience in really meaningful ways, you can have tremendous unlock. And I've always felt like that way in golf.

Terry Clark [07:22] I've spent the last 10 years of my career doing a lot of work in the sponsorship side and seeing golf and the opportunity to introduce it to people from all different avenues as being something that was great for businesses and for partners. And that application really had me very much engaged on all parts of it from players and some of the work that we did with players to some of the innovative products that were not on green grass, that were, you know, from TGL, which is like great new product that's on ESPN and and screen golf to some of the, you know, biggest championships and biggest tournaments. You could really see the power of golf. And I believed in that. So now I have this opportunity to really get engaged with an incredible team, incredible assets to, to really deliver for all different types of partners, including LPL. So

Matt Enyedi [08:07] It's a big job with, uh, a lot of work to do and a huge vision for the future. But I gotta ask, are you kinda like a kid in the candy store right now? ? Like is this kind of where you always dreamed you might end up?

Terry Clark [08:18] I'm always struck by trying to look at career and, and opportunities and work around things that really, you know, connect your purpose and your passion and can you do that? And I've always felt like, yeah, that this unlocks it in ways that I never thought I could. So yeah, I walk into work and we've got a group that you know, really is around the impact of the game and what it can do and the impact on all of our partners. And coming from the partner side or coming from the sponsor side, I really get excited about working with partners like yours around okay, how can we unlock our championships and our organization to hit and and exceed your business goals?

Taryn Huett [08:54] You have this strong marketing background. How has that shown up and sort of changed how the program of the PGA of America might

Terry Clark [09:01] Be? Well, I don't know that we've seen that much change yet, so I'll I it's only been a few months. Yeah. But I'll, I'll tell you the, my perspective has always been from when I sat in the board and now when I've come in incredible assets and we like when you look across PGA championship, the Ryder Cup, our KPMG, women's championship seniors and all the way down to what we do, you know, to a high school levels. And for juniors everything is really like really strong assets. And then you look at, at the core behind these 30,000 professionals, you say like, how can we make that better? And how can I help from a perspective of customer experience and sponsor experiences and thinking about really ways to elevate our members and that the profession as a whole. And I get excited about those areas because it's areas that I think I've had some background around how do we, you know, think about certainly marketing and digital and customer experience, but at the core it's around people and and really unlocking that. And so I think you'll see, start to see us get much more centered around the things that are really gonna matter. Make sure that our investments surround, making our association stronger, making our membership stronger and making our relationship for our partners as as strong as it can possibly be.

Taryn Huett [10:13] That's exciting. A lot of what we're solving for with our clients as well. Shifting us a little bit, you know, Matt and I do spend a lot of time talking with our clients who are business owners and CEOs and they're navigating a lot of change and why they're excited for the change. There's obviously also a lot of real pressure with how they think about sort of the evolution of their business, how they continue to grow, what does that next generation look like When you think about the PGA of America history and tradition and some could even say that it has been sort of slow to change. If you could share your perspective, how do you think about honoring the legacy and traditions of the PGA of America while also evolving to create space for the next generation of opportunity?

Terry Clark [11:00] You know, there is so much richness to an organization and association that's more than a hundred years old that has built um, uh, championships where we had our hundred and eighth PGA championship this year. But I'm a believer and you gotta be legacy forward. So how do you build upon, you know, rich history and tradition but don't necessarily let that anchor you from innovation and meeting new demands of the marketplace and all of your core constituents. And so we've been looking at a lot of efforts to be fan forward and rethink how that really works to be much more focused around our player experience, our sponsor experiences, our broadcast, how you can make that, I mean you think about how much you're a fan of golf, but just think in the last, you know, several years the difference in how you view and consume golf and the technology that just makes it so enjoyable to see and understand shots and where they go and the data behind it.

Terry Clark [11:53] And our championships to be seen as innovation forward, fan forward, like really, really focused on this is one that's a very modern major and that is, it doesn't mean that uh, you're giving up on the tradition in any way. You're just building upon it. So I'm really, really focused around how we can take, you know, you talk about legacy, I'm like legacy forward. We are gonna certainly honor the fact that we are majors and we play in a very rich tradition sport. But how do you kind of move that forward and how you experience it from all those different vantage points?

Matt Enyedi [12:24] I love that expression legacy forward. It's something we talk to. Look, a lot of our financial advisors are moving to later parts of their careers and they've been in this business for 20, 30, 40 years and they're thinking about how their business evolves and they're bringing in the next generation. And I think it's absolutely akin to what golf is doing and what PG of America is doing because golf is an absolute boom right now. I think we were talking more than 50 million folks are are playing the game of golf in one format or another. I think I saw the game of golf has grown by more than 40% over the last six years and it is across all cohorts. You're talking women, juniors, people of color, it is attracting a lot of folks right now. What do you think is the drive behind so much of this change?

Terry Clark [13:06] Well, I mean there's a lot certainly. Um, I think there was a moment with COVID that really introduced people to sport and connection in a different way and things that happen outside that was a great opportunity to introduce people and we've kept more and more people in there. I think you're finding a lot of people that it isn't necessarily about being outside. There's as many people entering the game or playing outside of, you know, a golf course. Then we've gotta embrace that. Yeah, they're playing on screens, they're playing with friends and, and that is, that's great. Don't, don't look at that as something that's not good for it. Look at that as a great way to introduce someone to the sport. I think golf can be a really hard game and that's where I really think uh, PGA professionals, coaches and teachers can be such a important contributor to not only getting that, you know, taking advantage of incredible growth but keeping people in the game.

Terry Clark [13:53] It is, you, you mentioned it across the board, every metric is really up in golf. Yeah, yeah. And that will not last forever and that will Sure. And our, it's our job to be stewards of the game and bring that forward in a really meaningful way to continue to get all those great recreational golfers to, you know, maybe think about and be interested in the sport and the professional level of, of fans and viewers and vice versa. So it really, really can be a positive moment. And golf is so strong right now. I just continue to look forward to like how do we take that even to the next level, those access points, getting people in, getting them comfortable, making it more approachable. Um, some of the ways that you can do that through teams and events and things like that are there. I say you know, just a comparisons, all sports are different but you take a sports that's seen a lot of growth like a pickleball.

Terry Clark [14:40] Yeah. And it is, you go from you know, zero knowledge to proficient in one hour at whatever age. Yeah. Yes. There's not a lot of sports like that. Well golf is not the same way, but part of that climb is part of what makes golf great that you can, you know, all you need is that one shot where you feel like you just got it great or the putt that you ran in that you didn't expect and you're like, I want more I'm in today. Exactly. And that's that part of that that just energy around it that I think is so great and why it keeps people coming back and we just need to keep doing that and keep introducing the game in fun ways for us to get that momentum. Keep rolling.

Matt Enyedi [15:14] You know, Terry, what's funny is I've had so many aha moments in just the time that we've been here and learning more about the PGA professional and learning more about how they are developing folks in their community and bringing things that they might not have otherwise had. And there's this massive bull market on golf, but there's this bull market on advice right now and we're seeing the same thing with our financial advisors. And you mentioned kind of the digitization and I love how the same thing we tell our advisors like, do not run away from this and it is not going to disintermediate you so long as you adapt it and learn how to live and learn and thrive with it. And we think the blend of the PJ of America and LPL coming together is going to be a perfect blend as well. Which is a great segue to our partnership and a great introduction to our next guest on the podcast because we are going to bring on our very own chief marketing officer Christa Carone to discuss this partnership.

Matt Enyedi [16:06] She is the brainchild behind it. She has really been building out this partnership and showing us, I think what it means for lpl, what it means for PGA, what it means for our clients and ultimately how we extend the brand to further credentialize our clients. So Christa, I'm gonna put you on the hot seat to kick us off and then we're gonna turn this over to you. Okay. But it was just over a year ago we launched the national brand for LPL the what if you could. It was compelling. It was different. It was a whole new way of thinking about a financial services firm entering a very crowded marketplace. I think you call it a sea of sameness. Mm-hmm  and showing up in a very different unexpected way. And now you bring us the next property and man did you go way outside the lines by putting financial services eng golf together? 'cause that's never happened before. I know.

Christa Carone [16:56] Well let's go back to May of last year and we didn't just launch what if you could, we actually asked the question, what if you could have the greener grass on your side? So a little foreshadowing there. Yeah. On the partnerships you

Matt Enyedi [17:11] Saw the

Christa Carone [17:11] Future that we're talking about right now. And that was such a big moment for the firm, like really an inflection point that this incredibly successful firm that had been so quiet so in the background was now leaning forward with building a brand and doing it in service of our clients. Right. Back then we were looking at couple of key objectives here. One disruptive legacy perceptions of the LPL as just an independent broker dealer. Right. We want people to start considering us as one of the country's largest wealth management firms. And then second, probably even more important was to introduce the brand of LPL Yeah. To our clients investors. And we've been making some pretty good progress there. So when we got started we did some initial research and about 2% of the consumer market knew the LPL brand. Yep. At all. About nine months later that grew to 18%. So nice steady progress. Amazing For sure. But also we have a lot more to do. Yeah. Right. And we had been looking for who would be the right partner for us to take the next step in building the brand. And you are absolutely right to hold me accountable to the fact that I kept saying we wanna do things that are completely unexpected now, partnering with the PGA, probably not unexpected, but the way that we're gonna be bringing it forward there

Matt Enyedi [18:32] It is,

Christa Carone [18:32] Is going to be unexpected and not in traditional ways. Tell us about it. Yeah, well I think what's most compelling about this partnership, and by the way we entertained so many different opportunities and a lot of 'em that came right from our clients too, is the fact that we have the alignment with Terry's members here. Yeah. And that we can bring experiences all across the country. So a lot of what we were looking at initially was just like singular events in one particular city. Mm-hmm . And we'd be there for years. I think it's very, very special that we're gonna be able to bring this experience to neighborhoods and communities all across the country, which is exactly where our advisors and their clients live. Very excited about what we're gonna be able to do with PGA Hope, which is the military veterans program that PGA supports and the fact that we're gonna be able to provide open access to courses to active military members That's cool. As part of this as well. And then we're gonna show up at the PGA championship in one of the most major ways, hosting over

Matt Enyedi [19:32] Two, no pun, pun intended, or was it intended? It was intended

Christa Carone [19:35] Of course. Um, par for the course. Yeah. I mean our ability to be able to host 2000 guests over the course of the tournament is pretty amazing as well. And for the very, very first time for LPL to be able to do activations on the course that are specific to our clients investors.

Matt Enyedi [19:54] Yeah. Maybe dig into that a little bit. Folks know we host dozens of conferences and events every single year and bring curriculum and bring ideas and bring partnership and bring fellowship to our folks across the country. But this is a unique way to do it. But I think you just jumped on a new piece, which is the investor, the end investor experience to be something that we've never really done before. Mm-hmm

Christa Carone [20:13] And remember like our whole brand experience here has been meant to credential our advisors partnership with LPL. Right? Right. That has always been the intention. So now to be able to bring an experience to the end investor that connects their relationship with their advisor and us, it's pretty special. So we're thinking about things of like, hey, if you work with an LPL advisor, you probably have our account view mobile app. Yep. Show us the mobile app. If you're coming to the tournament, we're gonna give you a special hospitality experience. It's those type of things where it's a little bit more, more consumer minded. Your advisor's probably gonna invite you to some of these courses and be able to host you on the course and bring you in and have some special hospitality as well. So a lot of different ways for our advisors to connect with their clients and draft off of the partnership that we've built with PGA here. Brilliant.

Matt Enyedi [21:03] Our brand journey has been all about credentializing, our advisors and institutions, partnerships with LPL and we have absolutely seen incredible growth from the launch of the brand just over a year ago. And we think this further takes it to that next level so that no investor, no prospect you're ever talking to says Hey, I love who you are, Mr. And Mrs. Advisor, but I don't know who this LPL is and I don't know if I can trust them. That's right. And this takes away that moment of you having to explain who LPL is and spend more time explaining what you can do for them. Yeah. Hey, maybe what we can do now is actually jump into the PGA championship. Talk about it 2027, the fireworks go off Tara. We are in Texas for a major championship for the first time in almost 50 years and you guys are in charge of it and I couldn't be more excited when you think about, well Texas hasn't hosted a major in quite some time. Texas is kind of the king of the best golfers in the world right now. Scotty, Jordan, Bryson, like it is this storied state of great golf and you guys are bringing it back in prime time.

Terry Clark [22:07] We are. And not only that, we're bringing it to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and where most of those players are actually live and reside. And so it is great. We just did a year out celebration in the community of business leaders and others. And I'll just tell you this, this market is really, really fired up. This is gonna be just a great opportunity to showcase world class major golf in an area that stars for golf and hasn't seen a major in a long, long time.

Taryn Huett [22:32] I'd love if you could give us a little look behind the scenes. You know, the PGA championship has been in some iconic courses. How do you decide what's next?

Terry Clark [22:41] You know, our identity variety has really been there. We just, uh, had our hundred and eighth PGA championship in the 75th location. Wow. So variety. And that change is something that we really pride ourselves in and that test of the world's best in different conditions is what we do. We really pride ourselves in our strength of field. We've had the best strength of field in the majors. We really pride ourselves in that too. And, and so the best in variety of tests and you'll see it this year in Frisco. So coming out to that we really want, uh, to introduce these communities to major golf in a way that they can really see it at its highest fashion. And that's what we're trying to do right now.

Taryn Huett [23:19] I do just wanna ask a question just because it is coming at the women's PGA championship, which I know we are recording this before it's about to kick off here shortly in Hazel team. How do you think about the future of women's golf and really bringing women into this profession as a whole?

Terry Clark [23:35] We talked earlier about some of the growth rates in, you know, all different parts of golf and the women's game has been at the highest growth rate there really, really, really strong growth in the women's game and the recreational side. We know that continues to translate to the interest in the professional side. So we're really proud of our KPMG women's PGA championship and what that brings is at the pinnacle of the sport, you know, at a major which does, uh, have a variety of different venues that it plays at and really tests the best in the world. It's another great opportunity to, to kind of support what we believe is all different levels of the game, uh, for women. So we we're excited about it and I'm, I'm hopeful that people can engage in that the way they do in the PGA championship. Hey

Matt Enyedi [24:19] Christa, before we wrap up, how can our advisors and institutions begin to connect to this partnership? Where will they start to see it materializing and activating? What should they look for next? Sure.

Christa Carone [24:28] Well we're pulling all of that together right now. First off, I mean it is LPL, so we'll be releasing some swag and then we're really building out a whole activation program. So we'll be doing a fair amount of communication more towards the second half of this year and into Q4 on how our clients can start tapping into this partnership. Fantastic. The one thing that we'll be making available relatively soon is launching our co advertising portal. So advisors will have the opportunity to go to marketing on demand and download some of our creative assets, some of which are very specific to golf and use it in their own marketing too. So being able to over time pull on the assets that we're creating as part of this partnership will be a nice way to continue validating that partnership.

Matt Enyedi [25:13] Yeah. And that co-marketing material is so polished and so sharp. Folks, if you haven't had a chance to take a look at it, please do. I think you're gonna really be excited about it and, and potentially see an opportunity to use it. Yep.

Taryn Huett [25:24] So Terry, in the spirit of the name of our podcast, if you could, we always like to end with an, if you could question and given your a couple months into your role, you have a huge responsibility. If you could give us a peek into your vision for what success looks like for you and how partnership with LPL can be part of that vision, what would it look like?

Terry Clark [25:46] I think in the end it's about making golf bigger. And I mean that for our members that they can have greater impact. You know, they're doing their best work and their best work has an impact on actually growth of the game. Purpose and passion. As you think about our partners and like LPL, I think the company you keep is really important. I want this to be an elevator for your brand, elevate that and everything you do, I want you to see it. This is something that is going to help achieve the goals you want. As we think about our championships, I wanna continue to make those even stronger, more impactful for the future. I think live sports is such an important part of where the world is really embracing and will for a long time and I think we have an opportunity to have a greater impact than we ever had before. So it's kind of, when I look back, I want say that I didn't miss any of those opportunities to make the impact as good as as as great as it could be.

Matt Enyedi [26:37] Look, I think you guys are doing wonderful work in the communities you serve. I think it reflects so closely to the communities that we serve as well. And I think this partnership is gonna be one that we talk about for a very long time and we're so excited to begin it with you here. So on behalf of Christa Carone, Taryn and I, we bid you a do thank you all and uh, we're proud to be partners. Thanks Terry. Thanks Terry.

Taryn Huett [27:06] The PGA of America and LPL Financial are separate entities.