Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Market Risk
We maintain trading securities owned and securities sold, but not yet purchased in order to facilitate client transactions, to meet a portion of our clearing deposit requirements at various clearing organizations and to track the performance of our research models. These securities could include mutual funds, debt securities and equity securities. Changes in the value of our trading securities may result from fluctuations in interest rates, credit ratings of the issuer, equity prices or a combination of these factors.
In facilitating client transactions, our securities owned and securities sold, but not yet purchased generally involve mutual funds, including dividend reinvestments. Our positions held are based upon the settlement of client transactions, which are monitored by our Service, Trading and Operations (“STO”) department.
Positions held to meet clearing deposit requirements consist of U.S. government securities. The amount of securities deposited depends upon the requirements of the clearing organization. The level of securities deposited is monitored by the settlements group within our STO department.
Our Research department develops model portfolios that are used by advisors in developing client portfolios. We maintain securities owned in internal accounts based on these model portfolios to track the performance of our Research department. At the time a portfolio is developed, we purchase the securities in that model portfolio in an amount equal to the account minimum, which varies by product.
In addition, we are subject to market risk resulting from system incidents or interruptions and human error, which can require customer trade corrections. We also have market risk on the fees we earn that are based on the market value of advisory and brokerage assets along with assets on which trailing commissions are paid, and assets eligible for sponsor payments.
As of December 31, 2020, the fair value of our trading securities owned was $29.3 million, and securities sold, but not yet purchased were immaterial. The fair value of securities included within other assets was $380.2 million as of December 31, 2020. See Note 5 - Fair Value Measurements , within the notes to the consolidated financial statements for information regarding the fair value of trading securities owned, securities sold, but not yet purchased and other assets associated with our client facilitation activities. See Note 6 - Held-to-Maturity Securities , within the notes to the consolidated financial statements for information regarding the fair value of securities held to maturity.
Interest Rate Risk
We are exposed to risk associated with changes in interest rates. As of December 31, 2020, $1.1 billion of our outstanding debt under our Credit Agreement was subject to floating interest rate risk. While our senior secured term loan is subject to increases in interest rates, we do not believe that a short-term change in interest rates would have a material impact on our income before taxes given assets owned, which are generally subject to the same, but off-setting, interest rate risk.
The following table summarizes the impact of increasing interest rates on our interest expense from the variable portion of our debt outstanding, calculated using the projected average outstanding balance over the subsequent twelve-month period (in thousands):
Outstanding Balance at
December 31, 2020 Annual Impact of an Interest Rate ( † ) Increase of
10 Basis 25 Basis 50 Basis 100 Basis
Senior Secured Credit Facility Points Points Points Points
Term Loan B $ 1,059,300 $ 1,055 $ 2,638 $ 5,276 $ 10,553
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(†) Our interest rate for Term Loan B is locked in for one, two, three, six or twelve months as allowed under the Credit Agreement. At the end of the selected periods the rates will be locked in at the then current rate. The effect of these interest rate locks are not included in the table above.
See Note 11 - Long-term and Other Borrowings, within the notes to the consolidated financial statements for additional information.
As of December 31, 2020, we offered our advisors and their clients two primary bank sweep vehicles that are interest rate sensitive: (1) our insured cash account (“ICA”) for individuals, trusts, sole proprietorships and entities organized or operated to make a profit, such as corporations, partnerships, associations, business trusts and other organizations; and (2) an insured deposit cash account (“DCA”) for advisory individual retirement accounts. In
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addition, we offer our advisors and their clients a money market program, including money market accounts as well as the ability to participate in purchased money market funds. While clients earn interest on deposits in ICA and DCA, we earn a fee. The fees we earn from cash held in ICAs are based on prevailing interest rates in the current interest rate environment. The fees we earn from DCAs are calculated as a per account fee, and such fees increase as the federal funds target rate increases, subject to a cap. The fees we earn on cash balances in our advisors’ clients’ accounts in our money market program, including administrative and recordkeeping fees based on account type and the invested balances, are also sensitive to prevailing interest rates. Changes in interest rates and fees for the bank deposit sweep vehicles are monitored by our Rate Setting Committee (the “RSC”), which governs and approves any changes to our fees. By meeting promptly around the time of Federal Open Market Committee meetings, or for other market or non-market reasons, the RSC considers financial risk of the insured bank deposit sweep vehicles relative to other products into which clients may move cash balances.
Credit Risk
Credit risk is the risk of loss due to adverse changes in a borrower’s, issuer’s or counterparty’s ability to meet its financial obligations under contractual or agreed upon terms. Credit risk includes the risk that loans we extend to advisors to facilitate their transition to our platform or to fund their business development activities are not repaid in full or on time. Credit risk also includes the risk that collateral posted with LPL Financial by clients to support margin lending or derivative trading is insufficient to meet clients’ contractual obligations to LPL Financial. We bear credit risk on the activities of our advisors’ clients, including the execution, settlement and financing of various transactions on behalf of these clients.
These activities are transacted on either a cash or margin basis. Our credit exposure in these transactions consists primarily of margin accounts, through which we extend credit to advisors’ clients collateralized by securities in the clients’ accounts. Under many of these agreements, we are permitted to sell, repledge or loan these securities held as collateral and use these securities to enter into securities lending arrangements or to deliver to counterparties to cover short positions.
As our advisors execute margin transactions on behalf of their clients, we may incur losses if clients do not fulfill their obligations, the collateral in the clients’ accounts is insufficient to fully cover losses from such investments and our advisors fail to reimburse us for such losses. Our losses on margin accounts were immaterial during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. We monitor exposure to industry sectors and individual securities and perform analyses on a regular basis in connection with our margin lending activities. We adjust our margin requirements if we believe our risk exposure is not appropriate based on market conditions.
We are subject to concentration risk if we extend large loans to or have large commitments with a single counterparty, borrower or group of similar counterparties or borrowers (e.g., in the same industry), or if we accept a concentrated position as collateral for a margin loan. Receivables from and payables to clients and stock borrowing and lending activities are conducted with a large number of clients and counterparties and potential concentration is monitored. We seek to limit this risk through review of the underlying business and the use of limits established by senior management, taking into consideration factors including the financial strength of the counterparty, the size of the position or commitment, the expected duration of the position or commitment and other positions or commitments outstanding.
Operational Risk
Operational risk is defined as the risk of loss resulting from failed or inadequate processes or systems, actions by people or external events. We operate in diverse markets and are reliant on the ability of our employees and information technology systems, as well as third-party service providers and their systems, to manage a large volume of transactions and confidential information, including personally identifiable information, effectively and securely. These risks are less direct and quantifiable than credit and market risk, but managing them is critical, particularly in a rapidly changing operating environment with increasing transaction volumes and in light of increasing reliance on systems capabilities and performance, as well as third-party service providers. In the event of the breakdown, obsolescence or improper operation of systems, malicious cyber activity or improper action by employees, advisors or third-party service providers, we could suffer business disruptions, financial loss, data loss, regulatory sanctions and damage to our reputation. Although we have developed business continuity and disaster recovery plans, those plans could be inadequate, disrupted or otherwise unsuccessful in maintaining the competitiveness, stability, security or continuity of critical systems as a result of, among other things, obsolescence, improper operation, third-party dependencies or limitations of our current technology.
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In order to assist in the mitigation and control of operational risk, we have an operational risk framework that is designed to enable assessment and reporting on operational risk across the firm. This framework aims to ensure policies and procedures are in place and appropriately designed to identify and manage operational risk at appropriate levels throughout our organization and within various departments. These control mechanisms attempt to ensure that operational policies and procedures are being followed and that our employees and advisors operate within established corporate policies and limits. Notwithstanding the foregoing, please consult the “Risks Related to Our Technology” and the “Risks Related to Our Business and Industry” sections within Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for more information about the risks associated with our technology, including risks related to security, our risk management policies and procedures, and the potential related effects on our operations.
Our senior management is monitoring developments in the COVID-19 pandemic and has implemented changes to our policies, procedures and operations to protect the integrity and continuity of our business and the health and safety of our employees. For example, we equipped and enabled a substantial majority of employees to work remotely, implemented physical distancing and enhanced cleaning protocols throughout our corporate offices and worked closely with our vendors to maintain service continuity throughout the market volatility and increased operational volumes that occurred from time to time during the pandemic. There can be no guarantee that our business continuity plans and the other efforts to manage the business implications of COVID-19 will be effective, or that there will not be material adverse effects on our results of operations. Please consult Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for more information about the risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regulatory and Legal Risk
The regulatory environment in which we operate is discussed in detail within Part I, “Item 1. Business” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In recent years, and during the period presented in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have observed the SEC, FINRA and state regulators broaden the scope, frequency and depth of their examinations and inquiries to include greater emphasis on the quality, consistency and oversight of our compliance systems and programs. Please consult the “Risks Related to Our Regulatory Environment” and the “Risks Related to Our Business and Industry” sections within Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for more information about the risks associated with operating within our regulatory environment, pending regulatory matters and the potential related effects on our operations.
Risk Management
We employ an enterprise risk management (“ERM”) framework that is intended to address key risks and responsibilities, enable us to execute our business strategy and protect our Company and its franchise. Our framework is designed to promote clear lines of risk management accountability and a structured escalation process for key risk information and events.
We operate a three-lines-of-defense model whereby the primary ownership for risk and control processes is with the business and control owners who are the “first line” of defense in effectively managing risks. The first line is responsible for risk process ownership and consists of the business units, whose primary responsibility is for day-to-day compliance and risk management, including execution of desktop and supervisory procedures. These business owners and certain control owners implement and execute controls to manage risk, execute risk assessments, identify emerging risks, and comply with risk management policies. The second line of defense consists of certain departments within Compliance, Legal and Risk (“CLR”), Technology, Finance and Human Capital, and provides risk and control assessment and oversight. The third line of defense is independent verification of the effectiveness of internal controls and is conducted by the Internal Audit department.
Our risk management governance approach includes the Board of Directors (the “Board”) and certain of its committees; our Risk Oversight Committee (the “ROC”) and its subcommittees; and our three-lines-of-defense. We regularly reevaluate and, when necessary, modify our processes to improve the identification and escalation of risks and events.
Audit Committee of the Board
In addition to its other responsibilities, the Audit Committee of the Board (the “Audit Committee”) reviews our policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management, as well as our major financial risk exposures and the steps management has undertaken to control them. The Audit Committee generally provides reports to the Board at each of the Board’s regularly scheduled quarterly meetings.
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Compensation and Human Resources Committee of the Board
In addition to its other responsibilities, the Compensation and Human Resources Committee of the Board assesses whether our compensation arrangements encourage inappropriate risk-taking, and whether risks arising from our compensation arrangements are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company.
Risk Oversight Committee of LPL Financial
The Audit Committee has mandated that the ROC oversee our risk management activities, including those of our subsidiaries. The Chief Compliance Officer of LPL Financial serves as chair of the ROC, which generally meets on a monthly basis with additional ad hoc meetings as necessary. The members of the ROC include certain Managing Directors of LPL Financial, as well as other members of LPL Financial’s senior management team who serve as ex-officio members and represent key control areas of the Company. Participation in the ROC by senior officers is intended to ensure that the ROC covers the key risk areas of the Company, including its subsidiaries, and that the ROC thoroughly reviews significant matters relating to risk priorities, policies, control procedures and related exceptions, certain new and complex products and business arrangements, transactions with significant risk elements, and identified emerging risks.
The Chief Legal Officer provides updates on pertinent ROC discussions to the Audit Committee on a regular basis and, if necessary or requested, to the Board.
Subcommittees of the Risk Oversight Committee
The ROC has established multiple subcommittees that cover key areas of risk. The subcommittees meet regularly and are responsible for keeping the ROC informed and escalating issues in accordance with the Company’s escalation policies. The responsibilities of such subcommittees include, for example, oversight of operational risk; oversight of the approval of new and complex investment products offered to advisors’ clients; oversight of the firm’s technology; and issues and trends related to advisor compliance.
Internal Audit Department
As the third line of defense, the Internal Audit department provides independent and objective assurance of the effectiveness of the Company’s governance, risk management and internal controls by conducting risk assessments and audits designed to identify and cover important risk categories. Internal Audit reports directly to the Audit Committee, which provides oversight of Internal Audit’s activities and approves its annual plan. The Internal Audit department provides regular updates to the ROC and reports to the Audit Committee at least as often as quarterly.
Control Groups
The CLR department provides compliance oversight and guidance, and conducts various risk and other assessments to address regulatory and Company-specific risks and requirements. The CLR department includes the Chief Legal Officer, who reviews the results of the Company’s risk management process with the ROC, the Audit Committee and the Board as necessary. STO and Technology each have risk management teams that identify, define and remediate risk-related items within their respective groups. Additionally, the Internal Audit department is a control group.
Business Line Management
Each business line is responsible for managing its risk, and business line management is responsible for keeping senior management, including the members of the ROC, informed of operational risk and escalating risk matters (as defined by the Company’s escalation policies). We have conducted Company-wide escalation training for our employees. Certain business lines, including STO and Technology, have dedicated personnel with responsibilities for monitoring and managing risk-related matters. Business lines are subject to oversight by the control groups, and the Finance, CLR, Technology and Human Capital departments also execute certain control functions and report matters to the ROC, Audit Committee and Board as appropriate.
Advisor Policies
In addition to the ERM framework, we also have written policies and procedures that govern the conduct of business by our advisors, employees and the terms and conditions of our relationships with product manufacturers. Our client and advisor policies address the extension of credit for client accounts, data and physical security,
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compliance with industry regulations and codes of conduct and ethics to govern employee and advisor conduct, among other matters.
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