Tr?id=566623520170033&ev=PageView&noscript=1

Commonwealth Financial Network Ordered to Pay $93.3 Million Over Conflicts of Interest

Posted on April 30th, 2024 at 1:35 PM
Commonwealth Financial Network Ordered to Pay $93.3 Million Over Conflicts of Interest

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law 

Commonwealth Financial Network has been directed to pay $93.3 million due to its failure to disclose conflicts of interest linked to a revenue-sharing program with a Fidelity Investments unit. The sanctions include disgorgement of over $65 million, prejudgment interest of $21 million, and a civil penalty of $6.5 million, mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) within 30 days.

According to AdvisorHub, the SEC initiated legal action against Commonwealth in 2019, alleging breaches of fiduciary duty by concealing from clients, between 2014 and 2018, payments amounting to $136 million from Fidelity’s National Financial Services for selling funds. The court concurred with the SEC's assertion that those payments presented a significant customer conflict, as clients were placed into revenue-sharing funds without being informed of less expensive alternatives.

In its defense, Commonwealth argued that revenue-sharing did not create conflicts because its advisors did not receive any portion of the payments from NFS. Notably, top holdings by Commonwealth Advisory customers included fund families like Vanguard and Dimensional Funds, which did not offer revenue-sharing payments.

AdvisorHub further reports that this ruling from the SEC comes amidst broader regulatory scrutiny on disclosure violations related to revenue sharing and mutual fund share class issues.

 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next
Quotes Bigger

 


It was really fun seeing you fight for us. You have an amazing way of thinking out of the box.


 

Beth M.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

1784134373 Law
July 15, 2026
LPL Financial Faces Class Action Over Phoenix Annuity Disclosures

LPL Financial faces a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that the firm failed to warn annuity investors about the declining financial condition of Phoenix PHL Variable Insurance Company.

1784046159 Law
July 14, 2026
Mariner Wealth Advisors Reports Data Breach Affecting Nearly 9,000 Customers

Mariner Wealth Advisors LLC disclosed a data breach that exposed personal information of 8,995 customers, according to AdvisorHub.

1783957061 Law
July 13, 2026
FINRA Warns of Growing Risks From Finfluencers and AI-Driven Investment Content

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regulators are raising concerns about the increasing influence of social media personalities and artificial intelligence (AI) on retail investors, particularly those managing their own investments without professional guidance.