The UK-based wealth advisory firm Towry
has started court proceedings seeking ÂŁ6 million ($9.8 million) in damages from
seven former Edward
Jones advisors and their current employer, Raymond
James Investment Services, over alleged client-poaching, according to Citywire.

The case began on Tuesday in the Royal Courts of Justice, and saw
Towry take on Raymond James and ex-Edward Jones advisors, Barry Bennett, Pieter
Burger, James Chandler, Wayne Hayhurst, Stuart Hutton, Tracey Simpson and
Thomas Spain.

The advisors left Edward Jones for Raymond James when the UK arm of the former was taken over by Towry in 2009.

In court, says Citywire, Towry
stated that the advisors “joined Raymond James as self-employed advisors, and
within a short period of time, nearly 400 clients came to transfer their
investments, worth over ÂŁ33 million, and their investment business from Towry
to Raymond James”, allegedly breaching their contracts with Towry.

The firm will reportedly argue it suffered significant losses, “amounting to nearly £6
million”.

However, the news service says the counsel for the defendants claimed there is no evidence
of either loss or solicitation and that they “were simply followed by their
clients”, describing the damages claim as “misconceived”.

Towry originally took out an injunction against Raymond James and the
advisors in April 2010, but the hearing has been postponed until now. The case,
which is scheduled to last for four weeks, is being heard by Mrs Justice Cox.

Towry confirmed the details of the case when contacted by WealthBriefing.