1. On May 30, 2023, the SEC announced its settlement with the former head of Wells Fargo & Co.’s Community Bank, Carrie L. Tolstedt, in which she has agreed to pay a $3 million penalty stemming from charges brought in 2020 for her role in allegedly misleading investors about the success of the Community Bank, … Read More

1. One April 26, 2023, the SEC issued a Risk Alert regarding safeguarding customer records and information at branch (remote) offices. Individuals in branch offices often have access to information technology systems that contain customer records and information. While many advisers have implemented safeguarding policies and procedures at their main office, some firms did not … Read More

1.  On March 30, 2023, the SEC settled charges against Sapere Wealth Management, LLC, a Matthews, North Carolina-based investment adviser, and its principal, Scott Trease, for unsuitably recommending that three clients invest $7.3 million in risky, alternative-investment deals.  Sapere and Trease did not reasonably understand the investments and thus lacked a reasonable basis to recommend … Read More

1. On February 27, 2023, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings against Shawn Good who was dually registered with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC (“Morgan Stanley”) as a registered representative and investment adviser representative. Good perpetrated a multi-year Ponzi scheme which involved his clients at Morgan Stanley, and that in doing so, he defrauded his clients … Read More

1. On January 30, 2023, the SEC’s Division of Examinations published a Risk Alert to highlight observations from examinations related to Regulation Best Interest. The Risk Alert is intended to assist broker-dealers in reviewing and enhancing their compliance programs related to Regulation Best Interest. The Risk Alert is helpful to investment advisers in understanding the regulatory … Read More

1. On December 23, 2022, the SEC instituted administrative proceedings against Roger Knox, a private investor.  Knox, while acting as an unregistered broker-dealer and working in coordination with others, used omnibus accounts he controlled to provide a layer of disguise to public company insiders and control persons, and intended to defraud investors by secretly dumping … Read More

1. On November 23, 2022, the SEC released its Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2022 to 2026, outlining agency objectives to fight against fraud, maintain a robust and relevant regulatory framework, and sustain a skilled and diverse workforce to serve America’s investors and capital-raising entrepreneurs alike. The SEC’s new Strategic Plan establishes three primary goals: 2. … Read More

1. On October 26, 2022, the SEC proposed a new rule and rule amendments to prohibit registered investment advisers from outsourcing certain services and functions without conducting due diligence and monitoring of the service providers. The proposal would require advisers to satisfy specific due diligence elements before retaining a service provider that will perform certain … Read More

1. On September 27, 2022, the SEC announced charges against 15 broker-dealers and one affiliated investment adviser for widespread and longstanding failures by the firms and their employees to maintain and preserve electronic communications. The firms admitted the facts set forth in their respective SEC orders, acknowledged that their conduct violated recordkeeping provisions of the … Read More

On August 29, 2022, the SEC charged Gregory Lindberg, Christopher Herwig and Standard Advisory Services Limited, a registered investment adviser, for defrauding clients out of more than $75 million through undisclosed transactions that benefited themselves and their companies. Lindberg and Herwig through Standard Advisory, breached their fiduciary duties to their advisory clients by fraudulently causing … Read More