Waddell & Reed Financial, a US-based provider of investment management, investment product underwriting and distribution services, has appointed Karen Lare to the post of senior vice president of brokerage.
A 30-year industry veteran, Ms Lare will oversee management and administration for Waddell & Reed’s brokerage platforms, providing leadership on brokerage operations, brokerage product management, strategy, and transition for experienced advisers joining the firm.
Most recently, Ms Lare spent nearly four years at WaMu Investments as president and division executive and, prior to that, as chief administrative officer overseeing the firm’s operations, trading, technology, commissions and customer service teams.
Ms Lare also spent 29 years with LPL Financial, working her way up from trading, operations and compliance roles to managing director of operations and, later, as general manager/managing director of a Luxembourg-based firm, Moventum, under common control with LPL. She set up the technology, operations and infrastructure of the venture, which offers clearing, trade execution, custody and marketing support to independent financial intermediaries in several European countries.
Thomas Butch, president of Waddell & Reed, said: “Karen has incredibly valuable experience from her very senior roles at established broker/dealers. We look forward to her joining the senior management team of Waddell & Reed, Inc., especially in building our capabilities in successfully attracting and transitioning experienced financial advisers to our firm.
“Her depth of knowledge and understanding of brokerage operations, technology and how they most effectively integrate with the needs of experienced advisers and their clients will help us continue to build our brokerage function significantly.”