A securities arbitration panel has ordered Raymond James & Associates Inc. to pay $12.1 million to Wells Fargo Advisors LLC for alleged adviser raiding.
The case involves 20 advisers who moved to Raymond James from four branches of A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in 2007. The moves, from two A.G. Edwards branches in Indiana and two others in Illinois and Arkansas, occurred after Wachovia Securities LLC announced it was buying A.G. Edwards in May 2007, said Anthea Penrose, a Raymond James spokeswoman.
Wachovia Securities allegedly lost $5.3 million in production through the departures of these advisers, according to Teresa Dougherty, a spokeswoman for Wells Fargo Advisors.
Wachovia Securities was acquired by Wells Fargo & Co., which filed the arbitration claim, at the end of 2008.
"Raymond James considers the award a miscarriage of justice," Penrose said in a statement.
