Kansas City Advisory Firms Agree to $25.5 Million Settlement Over No-Poach Allegations
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
Mariner Wealth Advisors, along with two other Kansas City-area firms, has agreed to a $25.5 million class action settlement over allegations that they illegally agreed not to solicit each other’s advisors.
As reported by AdvisorHub, the lawsuit, filed in February 2024 in federal court in Kansas, was brought by former and current employees of Mariner’s former subsidiary, TortoiseEcofin. The class includes non-executive employees of Mariner, Tortoise, and American Century between 2012 and 2020.
Plaintiffs allege they discovered the arrangement only after receiving Department of Justice (DOJ) notices in 2023. AdvisorHub reports that the notices stemmed from earlier DOJ settlements in which Mariner and American Century admitted to suppressing competition and wage growth through a no-poaching agreement between 2014 and 2018.
The DOJ required the firms to create $2.5 million victim compensation funds and notify affected employees.
Although the defendants denied liability in the civil case, they agreed to the settlement “to avoid the further risk, expenses, inconvenience, and distraction of burdensome and protracted litigation,” according to court filings. A spokesperson for American Century stated the firm is “glad to be in the process of resolving this matter” and remains committed to “fair and honest competition in compliance with all laws and regulations.” According to AdvisorHub, the settlement awaits approval by a federal judge.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.
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