News & Media

08/01/2021

Columbia, SC—Leah's title at Ben Lippen has changed from Accommodations Coordinator to Director of the Individual Learning Center. This change better reflects the increasing responsibilities Leah has in administering the school's accommodations program. In 2019, Leah accepted a position to work with Ben Lippen School as its Accommodations Coordinator. In this role, she has been tasked with managing the school’s existing accommodations program and with growing the program in an effort to assist as many children as possible obtain an education from a Christian worldview.

Prior to working at Ben Lippen, she worked at School District Five of Lexington & Richland Counties. She has 13 years of experience working in the public schools and also has clinical experience. Leah also serves as the Director of Special Projects at Accumulus Financial Group and continues to work in this capacity.

At Accumulus Financial Group, LLC, Leah assists Jamie with his clients that have Special Needs. She is a valuable resource to his firm and to the clients that benefit from her knowledge and experience.

Leah holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology (Magna Cum Laude), a Master’s Degree in School Psychology, and a Doctoral Degree in School Psychology. She attended the University of South Carolina for all of her undergraduate and graduate studies.

02/15/2021

Columbia, SC – After a great deal of careful thought and planning, Jamie is pleased to announce that Accumulus Financial Group, LLC will be part of LPL Financial's national network of independent financial service providers effective at the end of July. Jamie will continue to work out of his home office located at 5140 Furman Avenue; Columbia, SC 29206.

Following a thorough investigation of the alternatives, Jamie was impressed with the comprehensive package LPL Financial offers financial professionals seeking greater autonomy and a sense of ownership. And, of course, LPL Financial's emphasis on independence made the decision much easier. Continued independence means Jamie is able to better realize a commitment to his profession, his community, and the financial success of his clients. He believes that his passion can be better supported by taking full advantage of LPL Financial's dedicated back-office support, regulatory expertise and oversight, and an extraordinary commitment to state-of-the-art technology.

Jamie hopes these advantages will be passed on to his clients in the form of more personalized service and better access to objective, comprehensive research to enhance the way he does business. From securities and portfolio analysis to asset allocation and managed accounts, Jamie believes his affiliation with LPL Financial affords his clients access to a more comprehensive array of investment and insurance choices.

Jamie and his team wish to thank all of his clients for their continued support and confidence, without which he can not make his vision and mission a reality. Jamie and his team will begin preparing for the difficult process of migrating all of his clients onto LPL Financial's technology platform. That process will begin at the end of July.

12/06/2020

Overland Park, KS – Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. (NYSE: WDR) today announced it has entered into a merger agreement with Macquarie Asset Management, the asset management division of Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG; ADR: MQBKY), under which Macquarie would acquire all of the outstanding shares of Waddell & Reed for $25.00 per share in cash representing total consideration of $1.7 billion.

The transaction represents a premium of approximately 48% to the closing price of Waddell & Reed common stock on December 1, 2020, the last trading day prior to the transaction announcement, and a premium of approximately 57% to Waddell & Reed’s volume-weighted average price for the last 90 trading days.

On completion of the transaction, Macquarie has agreed to sell Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc.’s wealth management platform to LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: LPLA), a leading U.S. retail investment advisory firm, independent broker-dealer, and registered investment advisor custodian, and also enter into a long-term partnership with Macquarie becoming one of LPL’s top tier strategic asset management partners.

As a result of the transaction, Macquarie Asset Management’s assets under management are expected to increase to over $465 billion, with the combined business becoming a top 251 actively managed, long-term, open-ended U.S. mutual fund manager by assets under management, with the scale and diversification to competitively position the business to maintain and extend its high standards of service to clients and partners.

Through its subsidiaries, Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. has provided investment management and wealth management services to clients throughout the U.S. since 1937. Today, investment products are distributed under the Ivy Investments brand, as well as through independent financial advisors associated with Waddell & Reed, Inc. As of September 30, 2020, Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc.’s asset management business had $68 billion of assets under management and its wealth management business had assets under administration of $63 billion.

Philip J. Sanders, Chief Executive Officer of Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc., said: “Over the past few years, we have been focused on leveraging our strong heritage as the foundation for transforming our firm into a more diversified and growth-oriented financial services enterprise. The long-term partnership between Macquarie and LPL as part of this transaction accelerates that transformation and ultimately will benefit our clients and independent financial advisors while delivering significant value to our stockholders.”

Martin Stanley, Head of Macquarie Asset Management, said: “The addition of Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. and our enhanced partnership with LPL will significantly increase our ability to grow and invest in our combined business for the benefit of our clients. Ivy Investments’ complementary investment capabilities will provide diversification to Macquarie Asset Management’s capabilities and client base. The consideration offered reflects the quality of Waddell & Reed’s business and the future benefits of our partnership with LPL.”

Shawn Lytle, President of Delaware Funds by Macquarie and Head of Macquarie Group in the Americas, added: “This transaction is an important step forward in our growth strategy for Delaware Funds by Macquarie. The acquisition of Waddell & Reed’s asset management business and our partnership with LPL significantly strengthens our position as a top 25 U.S. actively managed, long-term, open-ended mutual fund manager across equities, fixed income and multi asset solutions.”

Dan Arnold, President and Chief Executive Officer of LPL Financial said: “Waddell & Reed advisors are highly experienced and wellrespected throughout the industry. They are a terrific fit both culturally and strategically, and we welcome them to the LPL family. Looking ahead, we expect our capabilities and resources will benefit their practices and help them unlock additional value and growth. Additionally, we look forward to deepening our long-term partnership with Macquarie, which will help us preserve unique aspects of the Waddell & Reed advisor experience while also positioning us to explore additional long-term opportunities together.”

The transaction has been approved by the Boards of Directors of Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc., Macquarie Group and LPL and is expected to close in the middle of 2021, subject to regulatory approvals, Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. stockholder approval and other customary closing conditions.

11/03/2020

Columbia, SC – Jamie has qualified for the 2021 Vision conference, Waddell & Reed’s annual learning and networking event. This year’s conference was scheduled to take place January 15-18 in Anaheim, California. However, due to COVID-19, the conference has been canceled.

Qualification to attend this conference is based on an analysis of investment, insurance and financial planning sales generated by the advisor. 400 of Waddell & Reed’s national network of financial advisors qualified for this year’s event. This is the 9th time that Jamie has earned this distinct honor.

Jamie has been a professional in the financial services industry for 19 years, serving individuals and families by helping them create financial planning strategies to meet their personal, long-term goals. He affiliated with Waddell & Reed in 2001 after earning his bachelor’s degree from The Citadel, The Military College of SC.

06/25/2020

Columbia, SC – After careful thought and planning, we are happy to announce that Jamie has registered his home as a branch office location! Due to COVID-19, working in downtown Columbia in a commercial building on Main Street became impractical. Jamie will now begin working on a regular basis from his home located at 5140 Furman Avenue in Forest Acres, SC. Jamie's home office is still near downtown Columbia but it is also conveniently located off of Exit 12 on I-77.

With this change, Jamie has better control of the access to his work space during the pandemic and this affords him the ability to see clients on his own terms and timing. With so many changes due to COVID-19, he believes this also gives his clients more convenience to meet with him at a time that is most convenient to them. In addition, clients no longer need to navigate through downtown Columbia traffic, hunt for available street parking, get lost in a parking garage, check-in with a building security team, or search for his office through a maze of elevators and hallways.

We are looking forward to meeting with you in our new space. Thank you for your continued support as we continue to work through this pandemic together.

02/03/2020

Columbia, SC – Jamie has qualified for the 2020 Vision conference, Waddell & Reed’s annual learning and networking event. This year’s conference takes place May 4-7 in Kansas City, Missouri.

This significant gathering – bringing together advisors from across the nation – is held each year in a different U.S. city. Qualification is based on an analysis of investment, insurance and financial planning sales generated by the advisor. More than 400 of Waddell & Reed’s national network of financial advisors qualified for this year’s event. This is the 8th time that Jamie has earned this distinct honor.

Jamie has been a professional in the financial services industry for 18 years, serving individuals and families by helping them create financial planning strategies to meet their personal, long-term goals. He affiliated with Waddell & Reed in 2001 after earning his bachelor’s degree from The Citadel, The Military College of SC.

08/01/2019

Columbia, SC—Leah recently accepted a position to work with Ben Lippen School as its Accommodations Coordinator. In this position, she has been tasked with managing the school’s existing accommodations program and with growing the program in an effort to assist as many children as possible obtain an education from a Christian worldview.

Leah resigned her post at School District Five of Lexington & Richland Counties to accept this new position at Ben Lippen. She has 13 years of experience working in the public schools and also has clinical experience. Leah also serves as the Director of Special Projects at Accumulus Financial Group and continues to work in this capacity.

Leah holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology (Magna Cum Laude), a Master’s Degree in School Psychology, and a Doctoral Degree in School Psychology. She attended the University of South Carolina for all of her undergraduate and graduate studies.

06/10/2019

Atlanta, GA—Jamie attended the 2019 Waddell & Reed Circle of Champions conference, recognizing the top financial advisors affiliated with the company. He was able to participate in excellent business building workshops, break-out sessions, and hear amazing presentations given by this year’s keynote speakers.

Jamie’s favorite keynote speaker was Marcus Luttrell, the sole survivor of Operation Red Wing (a 2005 U.S. military mission to gather intelligence on Taliban leadership in Afghanistan). Other keynote speakers included Kevin Brown (author of The HERO Effect: Being Your Best When It Matters the Most), Kindra Hall (Chief Storytelling Officer at Steller Collective), and Jason Silva (Emmy-nominated TV personality, storyteller and filmmaker best known for hosting the hit series Brain Games on the National Geographic Channel).

01/20/2019

Columbia, SC—Jamie has qualified for the 2019 Waddell & Reed Circle of Champions conference, recognizing the top financial advisors affiliated with the company. This year’s event takes place June 6-9 in Atlanta, Georgia.

This significant gathering – bringing together advisors from across the nation – is held each summer in a major U.S. city. Selection is based on an analysis of investment, insurance and financial planning sales generated by the advisor. More than 500 of Waddell & Reed’s national network of financial advisors qualified for this year’s event. This is the 7 th time that Jamie has earned this distinct honor.

Jamie has been a professional in the financial services industry for 17 years, serving individuals and families with their personal, long-term investment goals. He affiliated with Waddell & Reed in 2001 after earning a Bachelor’s degree from The Citadel, The Military College of SC.