SEC enforcement

“Our whistle-blower program is a critical component in our investor-protection toolbox,” SEC Chairman Jay Clayton says.

Other states are likely to enter similar agreements with the broker-dealer.

The advisor defrauded some 100 clients by persuading them to invest more than $71 million in 16 private funds offered by his two investment advisory companies, the SEC claims.

Co-chiefs of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement tout a program aimed at repaying investors for excessive mutual fund fees as a new approach to curbing industry abuses.

The funds paid for multiple vehicles, bedroom furniture and debts at casinos, prosecutors say.

The misconduct is so pervasive that the regulator is temporarily allowing violators to come forward.

The trade group cautions that the SEC could outsource advisor oversight due to low examination rates.

While some are mainstays, there are a few new ones to add to the list this year.

The second-largest independent broker-dealer overcharged nearly 1,800 retail retirement accounts, the regulator says.

Investigators say the broker spent his clients’ money on luxury cars and home improvements.

Authorities say the now barred broker concealed his fraud through a variety of methods, including by creating falsified tax forms and lying to accountants.

Regulatory decisions, whistle-blower cases and acquisitions will define wealth management in 2018, and the people here will be the decision-makers who remake the industry.

The regulator charged the firm and its owner with fraud in a case centered on commissions and 12b-1 fees.

Advisors should expect more regulatory requirements, enforcement actions and uncertainty in 2018, experts say.

Medium-sized RIAs have few options, but the SEC’s examination priority list makes this a hot topic.

He intercepted checks from her home when she wasn’t there and forged her signature to steal her money, investigators say.

A 75-year-old widowed retiree allegedly lost nearly half of her $3 million investment in the scheme.

Exchanges are required to begin feeding trading data into the Consolidated Audit Trail on Wednesday.

Chairman Jay Clayton and top SEC brass are putting advisors on notice. The regulator is drilling down on investor protections, while warning firms on cybersecurity and AML compliance.

Institutions are regularly compiling large amounts of data in their quest for enhanced disclosure, an expert writes.