SEC Settles With Moors & Cabot For $1.9 Million Over Disclosure Failures

Posted on February 14th, 2023 at 2:00 PM
SEC Settles With Moors & Cabot For $1.9 Million Over Disclosure Failures

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered Moors & Cabot to pay $2 million to settle allegations that the firm breached its fiduciary duty to its clients by failing to disclose payments it received from clearing brokers. 

Moors & Cabot has agreed to a cease-and-desist order and also has agreed to pay $1.4 million in disgorgement, $88,000 in prejudgement interest and a $375,000 civil penalty. Moors & Cabot, which oversees at least $2.2 billion in assets, agreed to the settlement without admitting or denying any of the SEC’s investigatory findings. According to the SEC, Moors & Cabot failed to properly disclose facts and conflicts of interests to clients related to revenue-sharing and incentive payments the firm was collecting from two unaffiliated clearing brokers between 2017 and 2021. 

The two clearing brokers supplied Moors & Cabot with transaction fee discounts and incentive credits that were dependent on the firm meeting specific dollar amount thresholds in federal insured bank deposit cash sweep programs, which automatically transfers clients’ uninvested funds into interest-bearing bank accounts, according to the SEC. The SEC notes that there were additional revenue-sharing payments made between the parties based partially on the amount of Moors & Cabot’s client assets invested in the cash sweep programs and based on margin loans the firm provided to clients to purchase securities. The SEC determined that these revenue-sharing payments and other incentives constituted a conflict of interest for Moors & Cabot as advisors were incentivized to allocate client assets to cash, recommend margin loans, and utilize these particular clearing firms as opposed to others. Moors & Cabot additionally failed to disclose the revenue-sharing payments, incentives, and conflicts of interest to its clients, according to the SEC. 

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

Tags: Eccleston, Eccleston Law

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

I am so blessed to have you and your dynamic team defending me. Your ethics, forward thinking and strategies are amazing.  You guys are the best group of attorneys in the country that I could hire to handle this complicated case.

Cindy C.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

November 6, 2025
Former Ameriprise Broker Ordered to Pay $2.2 Million for Elder Exploitation

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has ordered Eric A. Dupre to pay nearly $2.2 million in damages to his former firm and two customers following allegations of theft and elder exploitation.

November 5, 2025
Former Wells Fargo Representative Suspended for Unauthorized Texting and Obstruction

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has suspended former Wells Fargo representative Eyan M. Townsend for one year and fined him $10,000 for using personal text messages to conduct business and attempting to obstruct an internal investigation by deleting those communications.

November 4, 2025
FINRA Suspends Former Morgan Stanley Advisor Over $180,000 in Improper Transfers

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) suspended former Morgan Stanley advisor C.J. Kline for two years and imposed a $5,000 fine for allegedly executing more than $180,000 in improper fund transfers between his personal and brokerage accounts.