SEC Uncovers
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Ä¢¹½´«Ã½
Wall Street regulators recently imposed hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties on broker-dealers. The penalties resulted from their failure to detect executives and traders using unofficial communication platforms such as WhatsApp.
As reported by InvestmentNews, eleven firms agreed to pay $289 million to settle the matter with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, Ä¢¹½´«Ã½dbush Securities Inc. had its wealth management operations cited directly in the settlement, with the SEC claiming “pervasive off-channel communications at all seniority levels of Ä¢¹½´«Ã½dbush's broker-dealer and investment advisor.”
According to the SEC, from at least January 2019, Ä¢¹½´«Ã½dbush broker-dealer personnel sent and received off-channel messages that concerned the broker-dealer's business. During this period, Ä¢¹½´«Ã½dbush investment advisor personnel sent and received off-channel messages related to, among other things, providing and recommending investment advice to clients. Additionally, from November 2021 to September 2022, according to the SEC, an executive vice president in Ä¢¹½´«Ã½dbush's wealth management division exchanged numerous off-channel business-related messages with at least nine Ä¢¹½´«Ã½dbush colleagues, personnel at other financial services firms, and market participants. Ä¢¹½´«Ã½dbush agreed to pay a penalty of $10 million.
Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.
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