In 2004, “Facebook was just starting out. LinkedIn was fairly new [and] social media was MySpace,” Gehn said. “The ability to find people and communicate was substantially less.”
What advisors lose without the protocol is the ability to solicit clients, so they need to be careful to follow the terms of their employment contracts, lawyers say. What constitutes a solicitation varies by state law, so departing reps may require more legal advice and face some extra hurdles. But that doesn’t mean advisors can’t talk to their clients.
Without protocol coverage, “it adds a little bit of a speed bump and a little bit of cost” to move, Gehn said. “But the fact is, if there’s a strong relationship with the advisor, clients will want to continue with that advisor.”