Former female Osaic recruiter ends discrimination complaint

A former recruiter at Osaic, known until recently as Advisor Group, has dropped her lawsuit that alleged pay discrimination, retaliation and sexual harassment by the firm against her.

On August 12, Genevieve Sisco and Osaic agreed "to the dismissal of this lawsuit with prejudice," according to a court filing, meaning that Sisco's complaint is permanently dismissed. Each side agreed to pay for their own costs and fees.

Sisco filed her complaint one year ago against Advisor Group, now Osaic, and the firm where she worked, the broker-dealer SagePoint Financial Inc., in federal court in Iowa's southern district. According to court filings, the two sides in April had a five and a half hour settlement conference without reaching a settlement.

Sisco worked at SagePoint from 2008 to 2022, when she was fired. She now works at a rival to Advisor Group, Cetera Advisors.  

Since Sisco filed her complaint last August 30, Osaic, a firm that has been keen to promote women and hire female financial advisors, has seen two senior female executives leave the giant broker-dealer network with little explanation for their departures, noted one industry observer.

Jen Roche, Osaic’s marketing chief and the architect of the firm's rebranding last year that bid goodbye to Advisor Group, this month said she was heading to LPL Financial, in what appears to be a lesser role than the one she currently holds at Osaic.

And Desiree Sii, until recently the CEO and president of Osaic Services Inc., which formerly was known as SagePoint, recently left Osaic and joined AssetMark, the turnkey asset management platform, as vice president, head of strategic accounts.

Owned by Reverence Capital, Osaic has more than 11,000 financial advisors and $635 billion in client assets. As part of its rebranding last year, Osaic is also consolidating broker-dealers. Such consolidation of business operations at times can lead to executives leaving.

"In an industry that is searching for senior female executives, why is this firm losing those kinds of women," asked the senior industry executive, who spoke anonymously about the matter to InvestmentNews.

A spokesperson for Osaic did not return a call to comment on Wednesday about the lawsuit being dropped. Emily Bass, Cisco's attorney, also did not return a call Wednesday to comment.

In her complaint, Sisco alleged that she was fired in 2022 by Advisor Group and the broker-dealer where she worked, SagePoint Financial, for complaining about her pay and compensation, along with her role in the investigation of an allegedly personal relationship in the office of senior management.