United Planners

United Planners is an independent broker-dealer organized as a limited partnership and founded in 1987. The home office is in Scottsdale, Arizona. Michael A. Baker is president, chief executive officer, and general partner. The firm reports about 500 financial professionals, $32.8 billion of assets under administration serviced, and about 100,500 clients, and states that it is 100 percent employee- and advisor-owned.

The original general partner was Pacific Life Insurance Company, which held 45 percent, with affiliated advisors as limited partners holding 55 percent. Pacific Life sold the general-partnership interest in 2007 to executive management; later ownership changes left Baker and other executives as general partners. The limited-partnership design is described as a way to avoid hostile takeovers and keep advisor ownership in place.

United Planners is a home-office platform for independent advisors rather than a single-product sponsor. The firm maintains an alternative-investments function inside that platform, so affiliated representatives can offer private-market products alongside brokerage and advisory services. This profile covers the broker-dealer partnership those advisors use.