The
Most such events must be reported for inclusion on the Central Registration Depository (CRD) within 30 days, although more serious events must be reported within 10 days. The CRD is available to the public through the NASDs BrokerCheck, and more than 2.8 million investors have looked into brokers histories through the service.
"Investors, regulators and others rely heavily on the integrity of the information in the CRD public reporting system and, in turn, the integrity of that system depends on accurate and prompt reporting by firms," said Mary L. Schapiro, vice chairman of NASD. "The fact that so many firms failed in their obligation to report so much important information in a timely way is deeply troubling. These firms and others will understand from the severity of the fines and other sanctions in this case that timely reporting of broker information is a fundamental obligation that cannot be neglected or ignored."
Two of the firms,
All of the charged firms delayed in disclosing pertinent information at least 25% of the time between the beginning of 2002 and this past March. Some firms did so more than 70% of the time, namely
The NASD filed similar charges against
| Firm Name | Fine | No. of | Failure Rate |
| Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. | $1,600,000 | 1,420 | 30% |
| American Express Financial Advisors, Inc. | $700,000 | 770 | 44% |
| Wachovia Securities LLC | $650,000 | 610 | 32% |
| Prudential Equity Group, LLC | $550,000 | 490 | 27% |
| LINSCO/Private Ledger Corp. | $450,000 | 390 | 71% |
| PFS Investments, Inc. | $450,000 | 390 | 64% |
| Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. | $400,000 | 350 | 60% |
| Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. | $375,000 | 340 | 62% |
| NYLife Securities, Inc. | $350,000 | 350 | 45% |
| WM Financial Services, Inc. | $350,000 | 270 | 55% |
| Edward Jones & Co., LP | $300,000 | 280 | 27% |
| Chase Investment Services Corp. | $250,000 | 230 | 25% |
| AXA Advisors, LLC | $250,000 | 210 | 31% |
| MML Investor Services, Inc. | $250,000 | 220 | 69% |
| Banc of America Investment Services, Inc. | $200,000 | 170 | 56% |
| ING Financial Partners, Inc. | $200,000 | 160 | 77% |
| New England Securities | $200,000 | 180 | 57% |
| J.P. Turner & Company, L.L.C. | $185,000 | 140 | 62% |
| Financial Network Investment Corp. | $185,000 | 130 | 74% |
| Allstate Financial Services, LLC | $150,000 | 130 | 44% |
| RBC Dain Rauscher, Inc. | $150,000 | 140 | 35% |
| Wells Fargo Investments, LLC | $150,000 | 140 | 35% |
| World Group Securities, Inc. | $150,000 | 140 | 61% |
| Farmers Financial Solutions, LLC | $125,000 | 100 | 66% |
| InterSecurities, Inc. | $125,000 | 120 | 41% |
| Jefferson Pilot Securities Corporation | $125,000 | 110 | 48% |
| J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, Inc. | $125,000 | 120 | 62% |
| Quick & Reilly, Inc. | $125,000 | 120 | 51% |
| SunAmerica Securities, Inc. | $100,000 | 95 | 33% |
Source: NASD
