We've suggested recently that the broker wars are far from over. That point has been driven home again by the move by Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (MS) to sue five wealth managers who had recently bolted for HighTower Advisors, which has been luring brokers from top banks. The five apparently took their entire Strata Wealth Management Group, which managed about a half billion in assets.

According to Forbes, the bank feels the defectors had been plotting to make sure customers followed them to HighTower before they actually left. Specifically, the firm says that before their departure, the advisors solicited forty households they serviced to change custodians. In addition, the suit charges the advisors printed "a significant amount of customer account information," including performance reports and other account data (information security news). 

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs (GS) has withdrawn a suit against seven brokers who defected for Credit Suisse. It says issues regarding soliciting clients have been resolved. Stay tuned, we could be in for some really hardball tactics.   

For more:
- here's the article 

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