Financial Industry Veteran Crystal Clifford Joins HD Vest as COO

IRVING, Texas, Jan. 18, 2018

"As our network continues to grow, Crystal will work closely with our teams to ensure all advisors that partner with us receive the customized resources and support that they need," said Bob Oros, CEO of HD Vest Financial Services. "Crystal's vast experience managing operations and technology for large financial services organizations will help us further streamline our platform and expand in a scalable manner."  

Ms. Clifford is based in HD Vest's Irving headquarters and reports to Mr. Oros. She is responsible for overseeing brokerage operations, administration, compliance, technology, servicing, partner support, and trading units across the organization.

Ms. Clifford was most recently Senior Vice President of Technology at LPL Financial, where she led the Risk & Regulatory technology group responsible for the firm's anti-money laundering, compliance, and surveillance platforms. In that role, she also supervised product strategy, software application development, and the delivery of technology to financial advisors and internal business partners. Ms. Clifford became Senior Vice President of Technology following two years at the helm of LPL Financial's Product Management organization, where she focused on home office and corporate systems. Prior to that position, Ms. Clifford led multiple departments in LPL Financial's Operations, Trading & Service organization over the course of 12 years.

"HD Vest has a long history of closely collaborating with independent advisors across the country and empowering them to achieve their long-term goals," said Ms. Clifford. "I am proud to be able to play a key role in continuing to deliver services and support to the HD Vest network, and enabling all HD Vest advisors to optimize and grow their advisory practices."

Before Ms. Clifford joined LPL Financial in 1999, she held various roles, including Assistant Vice President of Accounting at Scripps Bank. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from San Diego State University.