Last night Kelly Clarkson rocked out in Boston at LPL Focus 2017, even as fundsters across town prepared for merger discussions today.

Dan Arnold LPL Financial President and CEO

Clarkson, the pop star who won the first season of the TV show American Idol 15 years ago, was the featured entertainment last night at the Focus 2017 Boston-themed welcome reception at the Boston Convention and Exhibition, as 7,000 FAs, FAs' family members, fundsters, and other FA allies gathered for the Boston- and San Diego-based independent broker-dealer's giant conference. Fittingly, Clarkson sang her first post-Idol single, "Miss Independent", which she described to the independent broker-dealer's FAs and allies as her all-time favorite song to perform.

Meanwhile, also last night in Beantown, executives from Aberdeen [profile] and Standard Life gathered for dinner at the historic Omni Parker House (one of the hotels hosting LPL Focus attendees) in advance of merger talks today. As of a month ago, the two Scottish multinational asset management giants were on track to close on their merger around August 14. In May the Aberdeen-Standard Life merger prospectus identified Aberdeen Americas chief as the planned head of the Americas for the combined companies post-merger.

This morning LPL CEO Dan Arnold will officially welcome Focus 2017 attendees. The Silhouettes, the shadow play dance group that won America's Got Talent, and Lori Greiner, the entrepreneur and inventor known as the "warm-blooded shark" on Shark Tank, will also take the main stage at the conference. Lisa Hughes, anchor at CBS Boston, will interview Greiner.

Also today at Focus, The Verve Pipe lead singer Brian Vander Ark will tell his "Rockstar Reinvention" story at two breakout sessions hosted by Global Atlantic Financial Company. 

Edited by: Neil Anderson, Managing Editor


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