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Lots of “scuttle” out there regarding Broker Protocol and the changes we’ve seen the past two years (U.S. Trust and their “Garden Leave” has brought the topic back into the limelight).

Since the 2004 origin of Broker Protocol, which was used to aid the big firms to recruit, lately the Protocol is also being used by financial advisors to break away on their own or leaving for smaller independent firms.

As a result, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of companies belonging to the Protocol. (Very easy to do; just notify the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and complete the joiner form at no cost and with no review of the firm.)

Thus, we’re seeing some new and creative interpretations of the rules which have led to a lot of “buzz” about the need to find a process for amending the Protocol and regulating it in some way.

So the big question is, without some regulation to assure compliance with the rules, will we return to the era of firms spending money and time suing each other over recruiting practices, making it more difficult for advisors to move between firms without fear of repercussion? Any views on this?