Investment Adviser

The Securities and Exchange Commission cited multiple failures in LPL Financial LLC’s anti-money laundering program in a cease-and-desist order calling for the investment advisor to pay an $18 million civil money penalty and to make documented improvements to its fraud mitigation policies and procedures. Read on »

The Securities and Exchange Commission levied $60 million in civil penalties against Wells Fargo and Merrill Lynch for alleged failures related to their cash sweep programs. Specifically, the agency claimed the firms did not follow federal laws requiring investment advisors to consider clients’ best interests. Read on »

The Securities and Exchange Commission will see a changing of the guard in its enforcement division as its director for the past three years is set to depart the agency. The division’s deputy director will move into the position of acting director. Read on »

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged 17 perpetrators for their roles in a $300 million Ponzi scheme targeting more than 40,000 investors, mostly of Latino heritage, in three countries. The scheme involved a Houston-based crypto firm, which was ordered by a Texas district court in September 2022 to cease and desist its illegal activities. Read on »

New rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission will require public companies to disclose climate-related risks related to their operations, as well as the methods and costs involved in mitigating those risks. There is internal opposition to the rules, which passed by a 3-2 commission vote, as well as pushback from trade organizations and lawmakers. Read on »

The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed a rule to extend its authority under the Bank Secrecy Act to cover certain investment advisors. Regulators published a fact sheet about the proposal and a Treasury report assessing the types of risks posed by certain investment advisors. Read on »

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) exposed an old fraud with a modern twist used to swindle crypto investors out of more than $1.7 billion. The SEC’s complaint said the defendants operated a pyramid scheme advertising significant profits stemming from non-existent revenue streams. Read on »

Morgan Stanley and a former executive were charged with fraud and failure to enforce policies and procedures related to confidential information in a $249 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Read on »

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted changes to its rules governing the beneficial ownership of stocks, shortening the reporting timeline for certain investors, among other changes. The rule revisions align with the SEC’s previously announced efforts to adapt long-standing requirements to modern marketplace conditions.

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Weeks after announcing its first action against a company for violating the agency’s new marketing rule, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released details about nine more organizations that elicited similar charges. 

The nine registered investment advisers subject to the marketing rule stand accused of advertising hypothetical performance metrics on their websites without adopting and/or implementing required policies and procedures.

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