FINRA Penalizes Morgan Stanley For Shortchanging Clients $800,000 In Fund Fee Rebates

Posted on January 10th, 2023 at 1:08 PM
FINRA Penalizes Morgan Stanley For Shortchanging Clients $800,000 In Fund Fee Rebates

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law.

Morgan Stanley has agreed to pay $802,000 in restitution to clients after a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) investigation found that the firm’s supervisory system had shortchanged some clients on mutual fund fee rebates between 2015 and 2021.

While Morgan Stanley will pay restitution to clients holding nearly 2,000 accounts, the firm avoided a fine due to its “extraordinary cooperation” with the investigation, according to FINRA. Morgan Stanley allegedly hired an independent consulting firm to enhance the review and further established a plan “to efficiently identify, notify, and repay customers”, which “provided substantial assistance” to FINRA’s investigation.

According to FINRA, Morgan Stanley’s supervisory system failed to “provide certain customers with mutual fund sales charge waivers and fee rebates to which they were entitled through rights of reinstatement offered by mutual fund companies”, between January 2015 and December 2021. FINRA determined that Morgan Stanley’s system’s use of sale settlement dates rather than execution dates likely prompted some of the shortchanging while coding errors “incorrectly excluded” four qualified plan account types from the fee waivers or refunds. However, Morgan Stanley has “enhanced its procedures” since January 2021 and took over responsibility for the rebates instead of relying on a third-party vendor, according to FINRA.

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

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, advisors, law, finra

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

Thank You from the bottom of our hearts for all you have done for us. When we realized this was a very bad investment - we did not know where to turn for help. Then we received your name. When we called you - you were so kind to us and then agreed to help us. For this we are so very grateful. The world would be a much nicer place if there were more people like the two of you in it. We will always remember all the help and kindness you have shown us. Thank you so very very much for everything.

Wayne and Judy S.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

February 6, 2026
Delaware Regulators Fine Kovack Advisors $985,000

Kovack Advisors Inc., the registered investment adviser affiliate of independent broker-dealer Kovack Securities Inc., agreed to pay a $985,000 fine to Delaware securities regulators.

February 5, 2026
FINRA Fines Broker-Dealer for Repeated Form CRS Disclosure Failures

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) fined VSI Securities Inc., formerly known as Venecredit Securities Inc., $20,000 for failing to accurately disclose the firm’s disciplinary history in its customer relationship summary, known as Form CRS.

February 4, 2026
Investor Redemptions Rise in Nontraded BDCs Amid Credit Concerns

Financial advisors and their clients have increased redemptions from nontraded business development companies (BDCs) following a series of high-profile corporate bankruptcies, according to InvestmentNews. The surge highlights growing investor concern about liquidity and credit exposure within these high-yield but often risky investment ...