The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced settlements with Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC, Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network LLC, and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated over allegations that they failed to implement proper policies and procedures for their cash sweep programs.
FINRA has directed Edward Jones, Osaic Wealth, Inc., and Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. to pay more than $8.2 million in restitution to customers harmed by failures to provide mutual fund sales charge waivers and fee rebates.
Newbridge Securities Corp., an independent broker-dealer based in Boca Raton, Florida, has agreed to pay a $105,000 penalty for failing to supervise financial advisors who recommended margin trading to clients.
A FINRA arbitration panel granted a financial advisor’s request to expunge a 2022 customer complaint from her record, marking another test of FINRA’s stricter expungement rules.
A federal judge in Wilmington, Delaware, ruled against Hightower Advisors in its effort to enforce non-compete agreements against a former advisor in California who sold his firm to Hightower.
UBS Group AG executives cautioned that the firm may see a rise in advisor departures this year due to changes in its 2025 compensation plan.
James Eccleston has been awarded an AV Preeminent rating, the highest possible recognition for legal ability and ethical standards. Managed by Martindale-Hubbell, this recognition signifies professional achievement in the legal community.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has penalized a New York-based registered investment adviser and its veteran adviser for converting brokerage accounts into advisory accounts that resulted in significantly higher fees without providing additional services.
A FINRA arbitration panel has ordered Morgan Stanley to pay $843,000 in compensatory damages to a senior client residing in Florida for failing to protect her from financial fraud. As reported by ThinkAdvisor, the panel found the firm liable for negligence in a case that highlighted the growing risk of elder financial exploitation.
The number of brokers seeking to expunge customer complaints and other disclosures from their public records through FINRA’s arbitration forum has plunged 79 percent over the past year.
Fantastic news!!!! Your professionalism, support and expertise were greatly appreciated. You made a difficult situation much more bearable.
UBS Group AG has begun liquidating two invoice finance funds with direct exposure to First Brands Group, marking one of the earliest moves by a major financial institution to contain the fallout from the bankrupt auto-parts supplier’s collapse, as reported by Bloomberg Law.
Federal prosecutors have intensified scrutiny of the long-running collapse of GWG Holdings Inc., unveiling criminal charges against Bradley Heppner, the former chair of both GWG and Beneficient.
A financial advisor affiliated with a credit union connected to Raymond James Financial agreed to an industry bar after declining to cooperate with FINRA’s investigation into allegations that he misappropriated client funds.
