In a major blow to the Protocol for Broker Recruiting, which limited restrictive covenants in the broker industry and resulting litigation, according to Reuters (October 30, 2017), Morgan Stanley has decided to withdraw from the Protocol. Created in 2004, the Protocol is made up of thousands of registered representatives, with the stated goal of “furthering clients’ interests in privacy and freedom of choice in connection with the movement of their registered representatives.” The move by Morgan Stanley to leave the Protocol was apparently motivated in part, according to Reuters, by industry changes as the top brokers are increasingly leaving the large brokerages that are members of the Protocol to work for smaller independent brokerages, which are not members.

The impact of Morgan Stanley’s departure from the agreement is unknown, but the next question remains whether the other major Wall Street brokerages follow suit. Regardless, it appears that restrictive covenants in the brokerage industry will be making a comeback as will the resulting litigation that the Protocol was created to lessen. For our clients in the brokerage industry, including Registered Investment Advisors (“RIA”), restrictive covenants are likely to become a much more important part of employment agreements again, and hiring of rival brokers will require more diligence in terms of existing non-competes.