A former recruiter at Osaic, known until recently as Advisor Group, has dropped her lawsuit that alleged pay discrimination, retaliation and sexual harassment by the firm against her.
On August 12, Genevieve Sisco and Osaic agreed "to the dismissal of this lawsuit with prejudice," according to a court filing, meaning that Sisco's complaint is permanently dismissed. Each side agreed to pay for their own costs and fees.
Sisco filed her complaint one year ago against Advisor Group, now Osaic, and the firm where she worked, the broker-dealer SagePoint Financial Inc., in federal court in Iowa's southern district. According to court filings, the two sides in April had a five and a half hour settlement conference without reaching a settlement.
Sisco worked at SagePoint from 2008 to 2022, when she was fired. She now works at a rival to Advisor Group, Cetera Advisors.
Since Sisco filed her complaint last August 30, Osaic, a firm that has been keen to promote women and hire female financial advisors, has seen two senior female executives leave the giant broker-dealer network with little explanation for their departures, noted one industry observer.
Jen Roche, Osaic’s marketing chief and the architect of the firm's rebranding last year that bid goodbye to Advisor Group, this month said she was heading to LPL Financial, in what appears to be a lesser role than the one she currently holds at Osaic.
And Desiree Sii, until recently the CEO and president of Osaic Services Inc., which formerly was known as SagePoint, recently left Osaic and joined AssetMark, the turnkey asset management platform, as vice president, head of strategic accounts.
Owned by Reverence Capital, Osaic has more than 11,000 financial advisors and $635 billion in client assets. As part of its rebranding last year, Osaic is also consolidating broker-dealers. Such consolidation of business operations at times can lead to executives leaving.
"In an industry that is searching for senior female executives, why is this firm losing those kinds of women," asked the senior industry executive, who spoke anonymously about the matter to InvestmentNews.
A spokesperson for Osaic did not return a call to comment on Wednesday about the lawsuit being dropped. Emily Bass, Cisco's attorney, also did not return a call Wednesday to comment.
In her complaint, Sisco alleged that she was fired in 2022 by Advisor Group and the broker-dealer where she worked, SagePoint Financial, for complaining about her pay and compensation, along with her role in the investigation of an allegedly personal relationship in the office of senior management.
Most firms think they are ready for the ultra high net worth market. Most are not.
Stifel has paid or is on the hook for close to a staggering $200 million in damages and settlements to former clients of Chuck Roberts.
UBS also expanded in the Southeast with six advisors overseeing more than $2 billion, while Osaic lured a $300 million family-led practice from Wells Fargo's FiNet.
The new AI workspace rollout promises to automate the full advisor workflow just as third-party tools wage a turf war for central control of wealth firms' tech stacks.
Mega-RIA picks up $250M advisor, while three firms head for &Partners.
Direct indexing is on pace to outgrow ETFs and mutual funds. Northern Trust's Ken Lassner explains why the advisors who get it wish they had started sooner.
As $84 trillion prepares to change hands, advisors who treat estate planning as peripheral are quietly building a sieve, not a book.
