Former LPL Financial President and CEO Dan Arnold will be able to retain about 48,000 stock options, with a total value of $12 million, after the firm fired him in early October for violating its respectful workplace policies.
According to a Form 8-K filed with the SEC, LPL entered into a settlement with Arnold on Dec. 8. The filing indicates that Arnold will retain 47,994 of the non-forfeited options, with a price per share of $327.56 (the company’s stock price at the close of Dec. 6).
Arnold’s remaining 98,432 stock options will be forfeited, while Arnold’s non-solicitation and non-competition provisions stand through Sept. 30 of next year. According to LPL, the value of Arnold’s retained stock options is about 15% of the “aggregate total value of the severance benefits and equity awards” he would have gotten if he’d been fired “without cause” or “for good reason.”
“As previously disclosed, Mr. Arnold was not entitled to receive severance benefits pursuant to the Severance Plan, and all of Mr. Arnold’s equity awards under the Incentive Plans other than the Non-Forgeited Options were automatically forfeited upon his termination,” the filing read.
Officials from LPL did not return requests for comment prior to publication.
On Oct. 1, LPL revealed its board of directors had fired Arnold for violating the company’s respectful workplace policies, with a board-approved investigation by an outside law firm found “he made statements to employees that violated LPL’s Code of Conduct.” Arnold resigned from the board, and managing director and chief growth officer Rich Steinmeier became interim CEO (he was later named permanent CEO).
“LPL’s Code of Conduct requires every employee, no matter their title, to foster a supportive and professional workplace and show respect to each other, our stakeholders and the broader community,” said James Putnam, chair of the board of directors. “Mr. Arnold failed to meet these obligations.”
Further details about the nature of Arnold’s comments are still unknown.
Arnold spent 12 years leading the broker/dealer UVEST before LPL acquired it in 2007. He began as a divisional president of LPL’s institution services business before being named LPL CEO in 2016 after Chairman and CEO Mark Casady retired.