Shares of investment advisory firm LPL Financial (LPLA) are trading lower in the midst of strong broader market gains after the company announced that CEO Mark Casady will be retiring.

WHAT'S NEW: Boston-based LPL provides a platform for more than 14,000 independent investment advisors. The firm announced earlier that Mark Casady will retire from his role as CEO effective Jan. 3, 2017. As part of its succession plan, the LPL board has appointed Dan Arnold, current LPL president, to be president and CEO effective upon Casady's retirement. Arnold will also join the board at that time, and Casady will continue as non-executive chair of the board until March 3, 2017. Casady, who spent 14 years at the firm, said earlier in a Wall Street Journal interview that he felt this was a good time for a transition "with big industry changes ahead, including the Labor Department's fiduciary rule requiring brokers to work in the best interest of retirement savers."

EXPLORING SALE: On October 11, according to a Reuters report at the time, LPL Financial was looking into strategic alternatives, including a possible sale. The broker-dealer was working with Goldman Sachs (GS) on a sale process that had drawn interest from other companies and private equity firms, the Reuters report noted.

PRICE ACTION: Shares of LPL Financial Holdings are down 3.4% to $39.60 in afternoon trading.