Morgan Stanley Advisers Must Arbitrate Deferred Pay Forfeitures

Morgan Stanley won a court order compelling arbitration in a lawsuit saying it’s wrongly forcing thousands of former financial advisers to forfeit money earned in their deferred compensation programs.

The advisers agreed in “multiple documents” to arbitrate disputes regarding their employment at Morgan Stanley, Judge Paul G. Gardephe said in an opinion issued Tuesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Matthew Shafer and his co-plaintiffs said their lawsuit sought plan-wide relief on behalf of the entire deferred compensation program, which they’re entitled to do in court under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Gardephe ...