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On November 13 2020, American Portfolios Financial Services and American Portfolios Advisors settled charges that it recommended and advised customers buy and hold a complex exchange-traded product (“ETP”) without a reasonable basis for believing the recommendation was suitable for their customers. Those customers lost significant portions of their investment. The representatives did not understand the … Read More

On November 13 2020, Securities America Advisors, Inc., q wholly owned subsidiary of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc., agreed to settled charges that it failed to adopt and implement policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent investments in two volatility-linked exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) that were not suitable for SAA clients. SAA, among other things, failed … Read More

On November 13, 2020, Summit Financial Group, Inc. settled charges that it failed to adopt and implement policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent unsuitable investments in volatility-linked exchange traded products (“ETPs”). As a result, Summit’s IARs recommended to their clients that they purchase and hold one of the ETPs for durations that were inconsistent … Read More

On November 13, 2020, John Stumpf, the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wells Fargo & Company, settled charges that he signed and certified misleading statements to the investing public that misstated a key performance metric. Stumpf and Wells Fargo publicly stated on numerous occasions that a core business strategy for the company, including … Read More

On November 9, 2020, the Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a Risk Alert in connection with observations from OCIE’s examinations of investment advisers: supervision, compliance and multiple branch offices. OCIE conducted a series of examinations that focused on SEC-registered investment advisers operating from numerous branch offices and with operations geographically dispersed from … Read More

On November 5, 2020, Capitol Securities Management, Inc. settled charges in connection with its mutual fund share class selection practices and its receipt of fees pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“12b-1 fees”). At times during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016 (the “Relevant Period”), CSM … Read More

On November 5, 2020, Conrad Coggeshall settled charges that he defrauded elderly investors in a company he called BOTR, LLC. According to the complaint, Coggeshall made multiple misrepresentations to investors, including that they were investing in BOTR, LLC, a successful mergers and acquisition firm based in New York, their investments were safe and insured, and … Read More

On November 2, 2020, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement published its annual report for fiscal year 2020.  In fiscal year 2020, the SEC brought a diverse mix of 715 enforcement actions, including 405 “standalone actions”.   72% of standalone actions included charges against one or more individuals.  Over 20% of all enforcement actions were against investment … Read More

On November 2, 2020, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement published its annual report for fiscal year 2020.  In fiscal year 2020, the SEC brought a diverse mix of 715 enforcement actions, including 405 “standalone actions”.   72% of standalone actions included charges against one or more individuals.  Over 20% of all enforcement actions were against investment advisers representing … Read More

On September 30, 2020, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC agreed to settle charges against for violations of Regulation SHO, the regulatory framework governing short sales.  Morgan Stanley hedged synthetic exposure to swaps by purchasing or selling the securities referenced in the swaps, and it separated its hedges into two aggregation units – one holding only long positions, … Read More