United Capital is accusing Concurrent Funding Advisors of serving to a former worker breach confidentiality agreements after she left United Capital following its acquisition by Artistic Planning.
United Capital Monetary Advisors filed a go well with in opposition to the Florida-based Concurrent final week in a Florida court docket, alleging tortious interference and aiding within the breach of advisors’ fiduciary responsibility.
The go well with facilities round Tatiana Stratigaki, a former head of workplace for United Capital’s Boca Raton location, and her transfer from United Capital to Concurrent in 2023 (although Stratigaki just isn’t named as a defendant within the criticism).
In response to SEC information, Stratigaki entered the business with Subsequent Monetary Group in 2002, adopted by a decade at Girard Securities, after which registered with United Capital in 2014, in addition to a three-year stint with Cetera.
In Might 2019, Goldman Sachs acquired United Capital, remodeling it into Goldman Sachs Private Monetary Administration. In response to the go well with, Straigaki’s employment at United Capital was “enormously profitable,” and she or he had “distinctive and privileged entry” to the agency’s “most confidential and proprietary data.”
United Capital by no means discovered a house inside Goldman Sachs, with a number of former workers criticizing Goldman Sachs’ top-down strategy to United Capital’s operations. On Aug. 21, 2023, Stratigaki realized via a gaggle assembly that Goldman Sachs was promoting the enterprise.
A number of days later, Artistic Planning introduced that it might purchase the $30 billion agency.
Within the go well with, United Capital surmised that Stratigaki was “dissatisfied” with the prospect of working for Artistic Planning and concocted a plan with Concurrent to solicit United Capital purchasers to maneuver their property.
Stratigaki resigned from United Capital in October 2023, allegedly with a job provide from Concurrent. Nevertheless, United Capital claimed that Stratigaki signed worker agreements regarding discover of termination, commerce secrets and techniques and shopper non-solicitation agreements that remained in impact for six months after her tenure ended.
United Capital discovered that inside a month of her departure, purchasers representing roughly $1.5 million in managed property left the agency, and inside 16 weeks, the overall had grown to $30 million. United Capital believed most of those purchasers moved their accounts and property to Concurrent.
In response to United Capital, restrictive covenants are “commonplace” inside the “extremely aggressive” funding advisory enterprise, claiming a agency’s success can depend upon its capacity to achieve and hold shopper relationships.
“As many funding advisory companies enter into restrictive covenant agreements to advance these pursuits, Concurrent knew or ought to have been conscious that contractual obligations like Stratigaki’s are ubiquitous,” the criticism learn.
Concurrent declined to touch upon the go well with, as it’s ongoing litigation.
Within the go well with, United Capital is searching for a jury trial, with potential damages “to compensate United Capital for all financial and/or financial damages,” together with disgorgement of earnings and punitive damages.
