Registered investment advisor Choreo has filed a lawsuit against Compound Planning on the heels of the registered investment advisor announcing that former Choreo advisors joined to seed a new office in Des Moines, Iowa.
On Tuesday, New York-based family office Compound touted its addition of a four-person team that had overseen $1.2 billion in assets with Aaron Schomer, Joleen Scheer, Lindsey O’Neil and Kevin Lors. On Wednesday, Choreo responded with a lawsuit against Compound and the advisors in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa Central Division.
In the lawsuit, Chicago-based Choreo alleges the advisors breached customer non-solicitation agreements and their fiduciary duty to Choreo by coordinating their exit and providing information such as the amount of client assets they oversaw at the firm.
“Since leaving Choreo on February 27, 2025, the individual defendants have, on information and belief, been communicating with covered clients about their departure from Choreo and their new employment with Compound Planning,” the plaintiffs wrote in the lawsuit. “The individual defendants’ actions are designed to solicit covered clients to discontinue their work with Choreo and commence working with the individual defendants at Compound Planning.”
Choreo alleges in the complaint that three business days after the departure, four clients gave notice that they were terminating with the firm—with one client explicitly noting they would be leaving for Compound. It also referred to LinkedIn posts the advisors made directed at former clients.
“[I]n their respective LinkedIn posts announcing their new employment with Compound, the individual defendants invited people in their network to connect with them by providing their Compound email address and/or a direct link to their calendars,” the plaintiffs wrote.
In addition, Choreo claims that the advisors breached their employment and fiduciary obligations to the firm by planning to leave together in an orchestrated breakaway.
“By soliciting and encouraging each other to leave Choreo in favor of another employer, the individual defendants acted in their own self-interest, and in Compound’s interest rather than the best interest of Choreo,” the plaintiffs wrote. “In doing so, the individual defendants breached their fiduciary duties of loyalty to Choreo.”
Compound and the advisors are refuting the allegations and plan to file a response in court.
“The advisors adamantly deny the allegations contained in the complaint, which is Choreo’s version of the events in this matter,” Michael Ward, partner at Barton, representing Compound and the advisors, said via email. “While I can’t offer many details given the case is ongoing, I can tell you that the public policy is in favor of client choice and the public will see a response to the complaint at the appropriate time.”
At the end of January, Compound had more than $3 billion in assets under management, excluding the assets of the new advisors.
Choreo, which oversees $24.6 billion in client assets, is seeking damages from the advisors, including disgorgement of the salary they were paid while in alleged breach of fiduciary duties and other punitive damages to be determined at trial. Compound is seeking compensatory and punitive damages to be awarded at trial and any other relief that the court deems appropriate.
“While no firm wants to take this kind of action, the choices of the departed advisors and their new employer compelled us to protect Choreo and our clients,” a Choreo spokesperson said via email. “We are confident in our position and look forward to addressing these issues through the legal process.”
Choreo is being represented by Des Moines, Iowa-based Nyemaster Goode P.C. and Chicago-based Vedder Price P.C.
Choreo has more than doubled its client assets over the last three years, in part due to organic growth since its creation in 2022 and its own acquisitions.