April 17, 2026
Louis Diamond Quoted
By Andrew Welsch
Although other advisor teams have gone independent, few compare with OpenArc in size. The team was ranked No. 1 among Barron’s top institutional teams in 2025. Because OpenArc’s team served a large number of corporate clients through a stock and benefits plan offering, it was considered unable to strike out on its own. That business line, an important source of client referrals, has long been considered “sticky.” Now, not so much.
Louis Diamond, CEO of recruiting firm Diamond Consultants, which worked with OpenArc’s senior members, says the departure shows that “the biggest of teams, the ones that have every kind of complexity and tie-in with a financial institution, can go independent.”
While OpenArc was trying to build a new business, it was also fending off Merrill’s legal challenges. The lawsuit sought a temporary restraining order to prevent OpenArc’s advisors from soliciting clients and accused the defendants of violation of employment agreements, theft of trade secrets, and other offenses. The OpenArc defendants denied Merrill’s allegations. Judge Victoria M. Calvert rejected Merrill’s request for an injunction and ordered the parties to go to arbitration.
