Cranford, NJ South Ave W. Office

Lincoln Investment Planning, LLC is a large, enterprise investment advisory and broker-dealer that works with a broad client mix — individual and high‑net‑worth investors, trusts, charities and corporate and ERISA retirement plans — and maintains a long history of serving educators and participants in 403(b) and 457(b) programs. Its offerings include financial planning, advisor‑led consulting, portfolio management through advisor‑managed and firm‑managed model portfolios, access to third‑party managers, and both wrap and non‑wrap platform options.

The firm’s investment work is driven by an in‑house Investment Management & Research (IM&R) team that constructs strategic model portfolios and operates dynamic, AIM (Adaptive Intelligence Model) strategies, while also employing Sub‑Advisers and overlay/third‑party managers as needed. Many client relationships remain advisor‑led and non‑discretionary or limited‑discretionary, with advisors using Lincoln’s platform tools, model portfolios and periodic reviews to tailor allocations to client objectives; Lincoln also acts as a fiduciary when providing ERISA/retirement advice.

Compared with many peers, Lincoln discloses a number of operational arrangements that are noteworthy: it serves as the introducing broker‑dealer on Pershing’s platform, designates specific sweep products (including Dreyfus money‑market and bank deposit sweeps) that generate firm revenue, and notes instances where it is deemed to have custody and undergoes surprise exams. The firm also highlights a layered delivery model — a large network of mostly independent advisors, an active IM&R team, and explicit co‑adviser/promoter relationships with third‑party managers — and discloses related fee‑sharing and platform‑level conflicts that it addresses through disclosure and supervision.