Kaplan, a diversified global education organization and the leading provider of financial education, has announced a strategic educational agreement with LPL Financial, the leading provider of investment and business solutions for independent financial advisors and the largest independent broker-dealer in the United States.

As a new participant in LPL’s Vendor Affinity Program, Kaplan will provide a comprehensive portfolio of financial education offerings with enhanced discounts to advance the training and skills of LPL Financial’s employees, independent financial advisors, and those employed at its affiliate banks and lending institutions. This expands Kaplan’s long-standing partnership with LPL to provide products and services to LPL advisors.

Among Kaplan’s more than 30 financial education programs are professional designation programs in financial planning, such as the Chartered SRI Counselor^SM (CSRIC^®) and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor^SM (CRPC^®), offered by the College for Financial Planning^®—a Kaplan Company. These programs provide specialized training in sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investments—including environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing—and retirement planning, which will support LPL advisors and affiliates with growing their business and creating desired client outcomes. Many professional designation programs through the College provide stackable credit toward its CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TM (CFP^®) certification program and master of science degree in personal financial planning.

Beyond professional designation courses, LPL advisors and affiliates will benefit from Kaplan’s extensive financial education programs, including exam prep in securities and insurance licensing, CFP^® certification education and exam prep, and leadership and professional development.

Brandon Busteed, Kaplan’s Chief Partnership Officer, said, “This partnership is all about helping LPL Financial achieve its goals of attracting, retaining, and supporting the most knowledgeable and skilled employees and financial advisors in the financial services industry.”

Robert Pettman, LPL Financial’s executive vice president, Wealth Management Solutions, said, “LPL is focused on providing comprehensive training opportunities for employees and extending those same opportunities to our valued affiliates. Adding Kaplan to our Vendor Affiliate Program helps us better support the ongoing development and growth of our financial professionals. We believe these kinds of programs can help advisors reduce the complexity and costs of running their businesses while increasing the possibilities for ongoing expansion. The ability to deliver access to the industry’s best financial education services will play an important role in helping our clients grow their business.”

About Kaplan

Kaplan, Inc. is a global educational services company that helps individuals and institutions advance their goals in an ever-changing world. Our broad portfolio of solutions help students and professionals further their education and careers, universities and educational institutions attract and support students, and businesses maximize employee recruitment and development. Stanley Kaplan founded our company in 1938 with a mission to expand educational opportunities for students of all backgrounds. Today, all of our employees across 27 countries continue Stanley’s mission, working with hundreds of thousands of students and professionals and 12,000 corporate and 4,000 school and university clients worldwide. Kaplan is a subsidiary of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC). Learn more at www.kaplan.com.

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 nearly 21,000 financial advisors, and approximately 1,100 institution-based investment programs and 500 independent 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.

*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 1996-2021); No. 1 provider of third-party brokerage services to banks and credit unions (2020-2021 Kehrer Bielan Research & Consulting Annual TPM Report); Fortune 500 Company as of June 2021. LPL and its affiliated companies provide financial services only from the United States.

Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial LLC, a registered broker-dealer and investment advisor. Member FINRA/ SIPC.

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. We routinely disclose information that may be important to shareholders in the “Investor Relations” or “Press Releases” section of our website.

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