LPL Financial and an advisor team must pay Ameriprise Financial more than $200,000 over alleged broker recruiting violations and related claims, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel ruled in a decision posted this week.
In a dispute that landed in federal court and FINRA arbitration in 2024, Ameriprise accused a father-son advisory team, Mitchell and Wesley McCann, of taking confidential information in "the dark of night" before leaving the broker-dealer for competitor LPL.
Ameriprise contended its rival regularly encouraged recruits to violate contracts with firms they were leaving, while LPL accused Ameriprise of trying to intimidate advisors who might want to leave and stifling competition in the financial services industry.
LPL and the McCanns denied Ameriprise's allegations, FINRA noted.
In a ruling posted Tuesday, a FINRA arbitration panel said the McCanns must pay $63,000, mostly in compensatory damages for breach of contract; that Wesley McCann — the son in the team — owes $120,000 in attorney's fees related to an employment contract; and that LPL must pay $17,600, primarily for tortious interference.
The arbitration panel denied as moot Ameriprise's request for injunctive relief as the firm was awarded monetary damages.
Ameriprise declined Friday to comment on the decision.
The federal court case in the matter was dismissed in October 2024 when FINRA took full jurisdiction over the dispute. The case was among various actions Ameriprise brought accusing LPL of encouraging recruits to breach industry rules and abscond with the firm's client data.
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