RBC pays $9.7 million in lawsuit against women's discrimination

RBC Wealth Management is on the hook for nearly $10 million in an age and sex discrimination complaint filed by one of its former top advisers.

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel decided Thursday to award ex-RBC Wealth adviser Cinda Collins about $9.7 million in a case alleging the firm “unfairly discriminated against her on the basis of her age and gender ‘ and had terminated her employment ‘because she was close to retirement. Collins’ complaint accused RBC of pushing her toward the exit in late 2019 so it could “steal a large portion of her business portfolio without compensating her.”

Starting in 1992, Collins worked for RBC and its predecessor Dain Rauscher in the Minneapolis area for more than 25 years. She is now a registered representative of Wells Fargo, according to FINRA’s BrokerCheck database.

She regularly appears on Forbes lists for top female advisors and top advisors in Minnesota. Forbes credited her with overseeing a team that oversaw $425 million in client assets before her departure from RBC.

One of Collins’ attorneys, Joseph Anthony of the Minneapolis-based firm Anthony Ostlund Louwagie Dressen & Boylan, said RBC fired Collins on false grounds and failed to follow its own policies when it terminated her employment.

“The evidence showed that she was fired without reasonable notice of the allegations against her or without a fair opportunity to respond,” Anthony said in an email.

A spokesperson for RBC Wealth Management said the company was disappointed in the arbitration decision and disagreed with it.

“At RBC, we value diversity and inclusion, do not tolerate unlawful discrimination and maintain a workplace culture where all employees are respected and treated fairly,” the spokesperson said.

Collins initially sought $7 million in compensatory damages – the value she placed on her business activities – as well as punitive damages and compensation for legal costs. At the arbitration hearing, she reduced her monetary claim to $6.4 million.

Ultimately, the three-member arbitration panel that heard her claims awarded approximately $6 million in compensatory damages, $2 million in punitive damages and $1.5 million for various legal and other costs. However, the arbitrators denied her request for changes to RBC’s regulatory Form U5 filing while letting her go.

Brokers are required to submit a Form U5 whenever one of their registered representatives leaves for any reason. Collins had tried to amend hers to say she had been fired without cause.

Anthony said he believes the $2 million in damages was ordered because his client was able to show “clear and convincing evidence of a discriminatory pattern on the part of RBC.”

The award sends “a clear message to the financial services industry that ageist, sexist, defamatory and discriminatory practices will not remain normal in the financial services industry,” Anthony said. The arbitration panel said in its decision that the award was made in response to violations of Minnesota laws prohibiting unfair discrimination in employment.

The real estate industry has a longstanding reputation inhospitable to women and minority groups. Several other recent settlements and lawsuits show that concerns about unfair treatment in the workplace are never far away.

In May Merrill agreed to pay nearly $20 million to settle charges of discrimination against black former employees. And Edward Jones is pursuing a lawsuit filed in St. Louis federal court in 2022 by two former consultants who allege they received discriminatory treatment at the firm.

Bill Singer, a securities attorney and retired author of the Broke and Broker Blognoted that the arbitration panel only reached its decision after 21 hearings, spanning from May to September, and seven preliminary hearings, from March 2021 to March this year.

“That three independent arbitrators need 21 hearings to hear a ton of evidence is a pretty strong indication that RBC has behaved in a despicable and reprehensible manner,” he said. ‘Why do we know that? Because they awarded $2 million in damages and $1 million in attorney fees.”