LPL Financial Welcomes Toledo-Based Financial Design Group

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – APRIL 3, 2023 – LPL Financial LLC announced today that Financial Design Group (“FDG”), an OSJ led by partners Mike Clements, AIF®, and Jason Strasser, has joined LPL Financial’s broker-dealer, corporate registered investment advisor (RIA) and custodial platforms. The advisors of FDG reported having served $850 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets* and join from Securian Financial Services, Inc.

Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, FDG was established in 1995 by Jim Strasser, whose founding philosophy was simple: to help clients make informed decisions about their long-term financial goals. The firm has evolved over the years to include 14 advisors and six support staff members.

Clements, President and CEO of FDG, joined the practice just after graduating college in 1999 and has spent most of his career with Financial Design Group. He became partner in 2007 and leads the firm’s advisors, concentrating on career development, growth and coaching. He is also responsible for practice management and strategy, case design and advance planning, with the purpose of enabling advisors to focus on their clients’ financial futures. Jason Strasser, Jim’s son, initially pursued a career in public accounting and worked at a big four firm until 2011, when he joined FDG to help the business expand and run the day-to-day operations. Jason is Chief Operations Officer for FDG. Jim Strasser has since retired.

Financial Design Group’s advisors provide comprehensive wealth management advice tailored to the unique needs of each of their clients. They each specialize in various wealth management areas and leverage an ensemble approach to help clients connect with the right specialists. Before choosing LPL, FDG conducted research on a variety of affiliation partners while searching for a platform that would position the firm to put clients first and make it easy for advisors. By looking for more ways to integrate service and provide differentiated experiences for advisors and their clients, the team chose to partner with LPL.  

“Throughout our search, the main question we kept asking was which partner platform would best position FDG advisors to help deliver its mission of helping clients make informed decisions,” Jason Strasser said. “This is the legacy our firm was founded upon and is at the foundation of the loyalty we have established with advisors, employees, clients and our communities.”

“Our client mix is across the board, which means our advisors need a variety of tools and expertise to provide comprehensive strategies,” Clements added. “That’s what was so attractive about what LPL can provide. LPL’s open architecture enables us to cast as wide a net as possible to curate the right asset and product mix for each client. Our advisors’ practices are all unique, so it was also important that the LPL technology platform could support them in the ways they each needed most.”

Jason Strasser agreed with Clements’s assessment. Having previously taken the firm paperless and built more streamlined, efficient workflows, he said LPL’s technology just made sense. “As leaders, our job is to make it easy for our advisors to do business, and LPL’s technology makes it simpler for us to deliver on that promise,” he said. “When we looked at who would help us continue to scale and grow the business, we did so through the lens of our advisor — who would help them put their clients first? LPL was the obvious choice for us.”

“LPL Financial welcomes Mike, Jason and the entire Financial Design Group team to the LPL community,” LPL Executive Vice President, Business Development, Scott Posner said. “We are thrilled to be part of the next step in Financial Design Group’s legacy of high-quality, independent financial services. Through LPL, they can now access integrated and streamlined business management tools that remove inefficiencies and solve problems. The advisors can get back to focusing on their clients, and Mike and Jason can get back to what they do best — positioning the advisors to put the clients first.”

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About LPL Financial

LPL Financial (Nasdaq: LPLA) was founded on the principle that the firm should work for the advisor, and not the other way around. Today, LPL is a leader in the markets we serve**, supporting more than 21,000 financial advisors, including advisors at approximately 1,100 enterprises and at approximately 500 registered investment advisor ("RIA") firms nationwide. We are steadfast in our commitment to the advisor-centered model and the belief that Americans deserve access to personalized guidance from a financial advisor. At LPL, independence means that advisors have the freedom they deserve to choose the business model, services, and technology resources that allow them to run their perfect practice. And they have the freedom to manage their client relationships, because they know their clients best. Simply put, we take care of our advisors, so they can take care of their clients.

*Value approximated based on asset and holding details provided to LPL from year-end 2022.

**Top RIA custodian (Cerulli Associates, 2020 U.S. RIA Marketplace Report); No. 1 Independent Broker-Dealer in the U.S. (Based on total revenues, Financial Planning magazine 1996-2022); among third-party providers of brokerage services to banks and credit unions, No. 1 in AUM Growth from Financial Institutions; No. 1 in Market Share of AUM from Financial Institutions; No. 1 in Market Share of Revenue from Financial Institutions; No. 1 on Financial Institution Market Share; No. 1 on Share of Advisors. (2021-2022 Kehrer Bielan Research & Consulting Annual TPM Report). Fortune 500 as of June 2021.

LPL Financial and its affiliated companies provide financial services only from the United States.

Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial LLC, an SEC-registered broker-dealer and investment advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC. Financial Design Group and LPL Financial are separate entities.

Throughout this communication, the terms “financial advisors” and “advisors” are used to refer to registered representatives and/or investment advisor representatives affiliated with LPL Financial LLC.

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About Financial Design Group

Financial Design Group is an independent comprehensive financial services firm committed to helping their clients improve their long-term financial success. FDG specializes in offering comprehensive wealth management tailored to the unique needs of the individuals and businesses we serve. We seek to help clients make informed decisions that align their money with their core values. The firm is headquartered in Toledo, OH with additional office locations in Phoenix, AZ, Warsaw, IN, Ft Wright, KY, and Avon, OH.  The firm utilizes a team-based approach whereby the firm positions its financial professionals so they can have a singular focus on developing lasting relationships with clients and utilize the services of experienced professionals to implement customized solutions. Michael Clements is the President and CEO of FDG. Jason Strasser is the Chief Operations Officer for FDG. www.fdgonline.com