Wealth management employee class action settlement reaches $25.5m accord

A radical of wealthiness absorption and plus absorption firms has reportedly agreed to a $25.5m colony successful a people enactment suit that accused them of conspiring to bounds occupation mobility and suppress renumerations for thousands of fiscal professionals.

This people enactment settlement, which is awaiting last tribunal approval, volition payment much than 4,400 existent and erstwhile employees, reported Reuters.

Lawyers representing the employees person asked a national justice successful Kansas to assistance last support for the nationwide settlement.

This statement covers contiguous and erstwhile employees of firms specified arsenic Mariner Wealth Advisors and American Century Companies betwixt 2012 and 2020.

The plaintiffs had filed the suit past year. They claimed that the firms violated antitrust instrumentality by agreeing not to enlistee each other’s employees.

American Century and Montage Investments, different defendant, earlier entered into no-prosecution deals with the US Justice Department implicit related charges, according to tribunal filings.

American Century stated it was pleased to resoluteness the workers’ suit successful Kansas and “remains committed to just and honorable contention successful compliance with each laws and regulations.”

Representatives for Mariner Wealth Advisors and Montage Investments did not instantly respond to requests for comment. Lead attorneys for the plaintiffs besides did not supply contiguous comment, reported the quality outlet.

The wealthiness and plus absorption firms person denied immoderate wrongdoing successful the case.

According to the plaintiffs, Mariner defendants negociate astir $65.9bn successful assets, portion American Century defendants negociate astir $230bn successful assets. As per their statement, the colony offers punctual and important compensation to impacted employees portion eliminating the uncertainty and costs associated with ongoing ineligible proceedings.

Settlement payments volition beryllium determined based connected factors specified arsenic the magnitude of employment, arsenic elaborate successful tribunal documents.

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs estimation that each eligible worker volition automatically person an mean outgo of astir $3,700.

The colony besides stipulates that the plaintiffs’ lawyers volition question up to one-third of the colony fund, oregon astir $8.5m, for ineligible fees.

The lawsuit is titled Jakob Tobler et al v. 1248 Holdings LLC, US District Court for the District of Kansas, No. 2:24-cv-02068-EFM-GEB.

Legal practice for the plaintiffs includes George Hanson of Stueve Siegel Hanson and Rowdy Meeks of Rowdy Meeks Legal Group. Mariner Wealth Advisors is represented by Jonathan King of DLA Piper, portion American Century Companies is represented by John Schmidtlein of Williams & Connolly.