Ameriprise: Departing Advisors Took 4,500 Clients' Data to LPL
Ameriprise’s attorney contends in a filing containing Palacios’ declaration that “LPL makes no effort to dispel Ameriprise or this Court of the reality that LPL is still in possession of, and using, the ill-gotten confidential information which it acquired through this scheme.”
Meanwhile, Ameriprise was allowed to move ahead Monday with a temporary restraining order against former advisor Douglas Kenoyer and his new firm, LPL, to prevent them from soliciting Ameriprise clients and misappropriating confidential information.
The TRO was issued in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington by Senior Judge Barbara J. Rothstein.
The TRO follows Ameriprise’s complaint alleging that Kenoyer, who resigned from Ameriprise in September 2024 after nearly two decades of affiliation, improperly solicited clients and took proprietary information in violation of restrictive covenants.
“In his role with Ameriprise, Kenoyer had acquired a significant client base through an internal transfer from former Ameriprise franchise owner Jan Gerards,” the attorneys Michael Taaffe, Brandon Taaffe and James Fanto said in a statement.
“This transfer included over 1,000 clients and more than $134 million in assets, governed by an agreement prohibiting Kenoyer from divulging or using any confidential client information,” the attorneys said.
The court’s ruling “underscores Ameriprise’s claim that Kenoyer violated both his Franchise Agreement and the Broker Protocol by soliciting clients before formally joining LPL,” the attorneys said in a statement.
“Both Ameriprise and LPL participate in the Broker Protocol, which allows financial advisors to take certain client information under specific conditions when transitioning between firms,” they continued.
“However,” the attorneys said, “Ameriprise contended that the protocol does not cover clients Kenoyer acquired through the internal transfer from Gerards, nor does it permit pre-termination client solicitation.”
— Melanie Waddell contributed to this story.
