UBS to withdraw from pact on broker recruiting

UBS is set to exit a 13-year-old broker recruiting agreement that allowed brokers to switch firms without the threat of lawsuits by former employers.

The Protocol for Broker Recruiting, inked in 2004, allowed brokers to take certain client information with them when moving to other firms and use the information to call clients and ask them to move their accounts. Till date, over 1,600 firms have signed the pact.

The pullout from the agreement will be effective from 1 December 2017. Late last month, Morgan Stanley too announced plans to withdraw from the broker protocol.

“Our industry has evolved significantly since the initiation of the Broker Protocol in 2004, with changes in regulations, technology and a major shift towards wealth management and financial planning.

“As our operating model is more focused on retaining our existing advisors than recruiting to grow our business, UBS will no longer be subject to the Protocol effective Friday, December 1, 2017,” UBS Wealth Management Americas president Tom Naratil said in a memo.

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