LPLA vs TROW Comparison

LPL Financial is the largest US independent broker-dealer, with more than 32,000 financial advisors affiliated with its platform and roughly 11 million customer accounts at the end of 2025. The firm earns the bulk of its profit from interest income earned on client cash balances and from advisory fees and commissions tied to the $2.4 trillion in assets under management or advisory on its platform at year-end 2025. LPL specializes in the provision of turnkey wealth management services for affiliated independent advisors, but maintains a diverse array of affiliation modalities, running the gamut from more traditional employee models to a pure RIA custody approach. It earns tuck-in revenue from recordkeeping fees and the provision of software tools and services to its advisor base.

T. Rowe Price provides asset management services for individual and institutional investors. It offers a broad range of no-load US and international stock, hybrid, bond, and money market funds. At the end of 2025, the firm had $1.776 trillion in managed assets, composed of equity (49%), balanced (36%), fixed-income and money market (12%), and alternative (3%) offerings. Approximately two-thirds of managed assets are held in retirement-based accounts, which provides T. Rowe Price with a somewhat stickier client base than most of its peers. The firm also manages private accounts, provides retirement planning advice, and offers discount brokerage and trust services. The company is primarily a US-based asset manager, deriving less than 10% of its AUM from overseas.