August 25, 2025
Louis Diamond Quoted
By Dan Shaw
Louis Diamond, the CEO of the recruiting firm Diamond Consultants, said big wirehouses like Morgan Stanley are the most likely among firms to explicitly offer new recruits compensation for left-behind deferred comp. Regional firms like Raymond James will sometimes include similar provisions in their recruiting deals, but not as frequently.
But even if an offer doesn’t contain money specifically to cover forfeited deferred compensation, it’s often understood that the overall size of the deal has been increased to take into account pay that was left behind.
“Usually they are getting bigger overall recruiting deals, and it’s meant to make up for what they left behind,” Diamond said. “Recruiting firms will sometimes add something more to the back end or pay more up front.”
Are arguments over ERISA becoming moot?
Rather than discuss the money recruited advisors receive, lawyers have attacked firms over contentions that their deferred comp policies fall under federal ERISA protections. Deferred compensation, they argue, is like a pension benefit that’s set aside and paid only years after it’s “earned.”
