Georgia Ruling Arms Firms Looking to Overthrow the Recruiting Protocol
Barbara Herman Quoted
By Thomas Coyle
A recent state court ruling has cast doubt on a key provision of the Protocol for Broker Recruiting, putting more pressure on the already weakened advisor-recruiting agreement and erecting a new barrier in the form of “garden leaves” to FAs looking to take old clients to new firms, industry experts tell FA-IQ.
For advisor recruiter Barbara Herman, the Georgia ruling combined with big-name departures from the Protocol is “a harsh reminder advisors need to pay attention to what’s in their employment agreements.”
In the past, adds Herman, who works at Diamond Consultants in New York, most FAs “paid little attention to the language in these agreements, including bonus awards,” because they assumed “the Protocol would be there to negate any restrictions.”
