Last summer, Massachusetts-based advisor Glenn Frank filed a lawsuit in his home state against Hightower Holdings and Lexington Wealth Management, the firm he’s worked for since 2010, accusing it of trying to push him out of his job because of his age.
He won a small victory in that case in September, with the state court prohibiting the firm from enforcing non-solicitation covenants against him, temporarily. But late last year, the court dismissed the case, holding that he must litigate his claims in Illinois, where Hightower is based.
This week, Frank did exactly that, filing suit in a district court in Illinois with similar claims. However, these allegations also address the fact he was terminated from Hightower in December after he received a poor annual performance review.
Frank, who is 69, claims he was fired due to poor “culture scores,” even though he had previously received the highest “or some of the highest, ‘culture scores’” at LWM.
“Defendants’ claims about Mr. Frank’s performance sharply contrasted years of positive reviews, were false, and are a pretext for age discrimination and retaliation,” the lawsuit states.
A Hightower spokesperson said the firm does not comment on pending litigation.
In March, Frank launched his own RIA, Frank Advising, in Bedford, Mass.
According to Frank’s complaint, Hightower tried phasing him out of working with his clients to benefit younger advisors at the company, stating that it was essential to the firm’s long-term health.
Frank joined LWM from Wells Fargo in 2010, bringing about 50 clients with him. Many of them stayed on board when Hightower acquired the practice, not caring about the namesake firm “as long as Glenn is behind it,” according to the original complaint.
In 2016, he cut his hours while keeping his title and responsibilities, but Frank claimed LWM began changing his role to “member emeritus” without consulting him. Soon, Frank lost the chance to have the final say about his client accounts.
This pressure continued once Hightower bought the firm, he claims.
In 2021, supervisors removed him from the firm’s Investment Committee without telling him or his clients, and he was told that if he “did not take a role subordinate to that of the younger advisors, he would be removed from his clients’ service teams completely,” according to the lawsuit.
Frank even alleged Hightower falsely told clients he was unavailable or vacationing and moved to cut his pay and hours, telling him it would be up to “younger advisors” when and how he could interact with clients. He filed a complaint with Hightower’s HR department alleging age discrimination, but Frank claimed it went nowhere.
The same day, Frank informed Hightower that he planned to file a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, and the firm suspended him.