Charles Schwab & Co. ("Schwab") has asked a federal court to prevent a former broker from contacting and soliciting customers to his new firm, BMO Harris Financial Advisors, Inc.

According to the complaint, Andy W. Saeger worked for Schwab for 12 of his 16 years as a registered representative and resigned in October 2018. Schwab has sued Saeger after hearing from two customers who reported that Sager had reached out to them through email and LinkedIn. Saeger worked with customers seeking higher levels of service than the self-directed investors whom Schwab typically services, according to the lawsuit. Such brokers receive most of their referrals from the self-directed channel, in contrast to brokers who build their books through cold-calling and personal contacts, according to the lawsuit.

Schwab is seeking a preliminary injunction against Saeger, pending a FINRA arbitration hearing seeking damages and a permanent injunction. The suit is the latest in a series that Schwab, Fidelity Investments and even registered investment advisory firms such as Mercer Advisors have been filing against former advisors who allegedly use proprietary data to restart their practices.

Schwab is not a member of the Protocol for Broker Recruiting, which allows brokers to take limited client contact information with them when moving to other signatory firms. Most firms are members of the Protocol. However, UBS and Morgan Stanley withdrew from the pact in 2017.