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

SEC Charges Betterment For Misstatements Regarding Tax Loss Harvesting Service

Posted on April 25th, 2023 at 1:20 PM
SEC Charges Betterment For Misstatements Regarding Tax Loss Harvesting Service

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law 

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Betterment LLC for material misstatements and omissions regarding its automated tax loss harvesting services (TLH). 

Betterment, which agreed to pay $9 million as part of a settlement, allegedly failed to provide clients with notice of changes to contracts as well as preserve required books and records, according to the SEC. The SEC determined that Betterment misstated or omitted numerous material facts to clients between 2016 and 2019 regarding TLH, which is a service that monitors clients’ accounts for opportunities to lessen their tax burden.

Additionally, Betterment failed to disclose a programming issue that impacted certain clients as well as two separate computer coding errors that restricted TLH from harvesting losses for some clients. The SEC estimated that the issues negatively impacted at least 25,000 client accounts and resulted in clients losing nearly $4 million in potential tax reductions. Betterment, which did not admit or deny any of the SEC’s investigatory findings, agreed to pay a $9 million civil penalty that will be distributed to impacted clients.

Eccleston Law LLC represents financial advisors and investors 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

1775837448 Law
April 10, 2026
FINRA Charges Former Pruco Securities Broker With Forging Annuity Applications to Generate Commissions

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has filed a complaint against former Pruco Securities broker Avinesh Shankar, accusing him of forging customer signatures on dozens of annuity applications in order to collect advance commissions.

1775751943 Law
April 9, 2026
Private Credit Funds Face Liquidity Strain as Redemption Requests Surge

Investor demand for liquidity has intensified across the private credit market, leaving billions in capital temporarily inaccessible due to withdrawal restrictions, according to AdvisorHub.

1775670322 Law
April 8, 2026
FinCEN Imposes $80 Million Penalty on Canaccord for AML Failures

The U.S.