Judge blocks Prime Capital advisors from contacting ex-Edelman clients

Edelman Financial Engines has won a temporary restraining order in its case against Prime Capital Financial, effectively preventing two Prime advisors from soliciting clients they previously worked with at Edelman.  

The order applies to Joan Greenspon and Amanda Salyer, two Philadelphia-area advisors formerly with Edelman, whose move to Prime Capital Financial was revealed in a late February announcement.

Headquartered in Kansas, Prime Capital Financial reports $40 billion in assets under management across 70 locations.

Edelman, a mega-RIA aggregator with nearly $330 billion in assets, filed suit in November 2025 that claimed Prime deployed a “playbook” to successfully recruit a dozen of its advisors and steal confidential client information on clients totaling $1.5 billion in assets.

In a ruling last week, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika in Delaware federal court ordered that Prime Capital be temporarily restricted from using or disclosing any confidential information relating to Greenspon or Salyer’s clients held during their time at Edelman, and from contacting those clients. However, the judge denied Edelman’s appeal to enforce the non-acceptance provision in the two advisors’ restrictive covenants. 

 “We are pleased by the court’s decision. Above all, we remain committed to protecting and advancing our business by empowering our planners and employees who prioritize our mission to put the best interests of our clients above all,” an Edelman spokesperson told InvestmentNews. 

A representative for Prime Capital Financial did not respond to a request for comment on the latest ruling.

According to the judge's decision filing, "Edelman faces the loss of almost half a billion dollars in assets under management if Greenspon and Salyer are permitted to misuse Edelman’s confidential information and solicit their former clients away from Edelman."

The restraining order will remain in effect until the court can issue a decision resolving Edelman’s motion for preliminary injunction. A court date for a preliminary injunction hearing has been set for April 23.

Court filings indicate that 160 of Greenspon’s clients totaling $236.2 million in assets have cancelled their accounts with Edelman since her February departure, and 93 of Salyer’s clients totaling $69.7 million AUM cancelled their accounts with Edelman. 

“Prime engaged in independently actionable conduct by coordinating Greenspon and Salyer’s departures such that they would breach their restrictive covenants with Edelman,” the judge wrote. “Thus, neither of Prime’s arguments are availing. Instead, Prime knew about Greenspon and Salyer’s restrictive covenants but nonetheless induced them to breach those covenants.” 

Edelman, one of the industry’s biggest mega-RIAs, announced a new employee equity program this week to grant equity options to all financial planners on its staff.