A Massachusetts-based consultant who is suing Hightower for age discrimination won a small victory last month, with a state court temporarily barring the firm from enforcing non-solicitation agreements against him.
In the ruling, Judge Debra Squires-Lee ruled in favor of Glenn Frank, a 69-year-old adviser who became involved with Hightower after it bought Lexington Wealth Management in 2019.
Frank claimed that his superiors at Hightower had worked to “force” his retirement. In ruling, Judge Squires-Lee said the potential damage to Frank's career could be “particularly dire” if the covenants continued to apply.
“The harm to Frank from not being able to communicate with his longtime clients or to seek out or work with other clients he never worked with or communicated with during his time at LWM is far greater than any harm to Hightower from ordinary competition,” the order said. .
A spokesman for Hightower said the firm does not comment on pending litigation.
Frank sued Hightower and LWM last month, seeking a temporary injunction so he could consider moving to a new job, bringing his clients with him. According to Frank's complaint, Hightower tried to remove Frank from working with his clients to benefit younger advisers at the firm, saying it was essential to her long-term health.
Frank joined LWM from Wells Fargo in 2010, bringing with him approximately 50 clients; many of those clients stayed on board when Hightower bought LWM, not caring about the beloved firm “as long as Glenn stands behind it,” according to the original complaint.
In 2016, he reduced his hours while retaining his title and responsibilities, but Frank claimed that LWM began changing his role to “emeritus member” without consulting him. Frank soon lost the opportunity to have the last word on his clients' accounts.
According to Frank's complaint, that pressure continued once Hightower bought the firm.
In 2021, supervisors removed Frank from the firm's Investment Committee without telling him or his clients, and he was told that if he “didn't take a role subordinate to that of the younger advisers, he would be removed from its customer service teams in full. .”
Frank even alleged that Hightower falsely told clients he was unavailable or on vacation and moved to cut his pay and hours, telling Frank he would depend on “younger advisors” when and how he could interact with customers. He filed a complaint with Hightower's human resources department alleging age discrimination, but Frank claims it went nowhere.
That same day, Frank informed Hightower that he planned to file a complaint with the Massachusetts Anti-Discrimination Commission, and the firm suspended him, apparently because of an email he had sent to clients.
The suspension has since ended, but as of now, Frank remains at Hightower. According to his complaint, he cannot bring his existing clients with him if he leaves because of the non-solicitation agreement.
In her decision, Squires-Lee said the public would also benefit from allowing Frank's longtime customers to go with her.
“Some may leave Hightower / LWM to work with Frank. Some may not”, she wrote. “The choice, especially given the length of their relationship with Frank, should be theirs to make.”