Macquarie Group, an Australian multinational independent investment bank and financial services company, completed the acquisition of Waddell & Reed Financial, an American asset management and financial planning company, for $1.7bn. "Over the past few years, we have been focused on leveraging our strong heritage as the foundation for transforming our firm into a more diversified and growth-oriented financial services enterprise. The long-term partnership between Macquarie and LPL as part of this transaction accelerates that transformation and ultimately will benefit our clients and independent financial advisors while delivering significant value to our stockholders," Philip J. Sanders, Waddell & Reed Financial CEO.