- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Aaron Nicodemus2024-04-12T16:01:00
Five registered investment advisers agreed to pay a total of $200,000 in penalties for allegedly violating the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) amended marketing rule.
Rhode Island-based Gea Sphere agreed to pay a civil penalty of $100,000 for advertising hypothetical performance to the general public on its website “without adopting and implementing policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that the hypothetical performance was relevant to the likely financial situation and investment objectives of each advertisement’s intended audience,” the SEC said Friday in a press release.
Four other firms received reduced penalties by taking corrective steps in advance of being contacted by the agency. Miami-based Credicorp Capital and Houston-based Monex Asset Management each agreed to pay $30,000 to settle the charges, while Florida-based Bradesco Global Advisors and Illinois-based InSight Securities paid $20,000 each.
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Nine investment advisers will pay a total of $1.24 million to settle allegations that they violated the Securities and Exchange Commission’s marketing rule by disseminating advertisements with untrue or misleading information.
Examiners with the Securities and Exchange Commission found investment advisory firms have generally done well creating processes to comply with the agency’s amended marketing rule but some have fallen short in ensuring compliance.
Sanjay Wadwha, deputy director of the SEC’s Enforcement Division, discussed the agency’s rationale for issuing widely disparate penalties for off-channel communications recordkeeping violations, as well as violations of its amended marketing rule.
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has fined Metro Bank 16.6 million pounds (U.S. $21 million) for an alleged failure by its automated system to adequately monitor money laundering risks.
A subsidiary of Spanish telecommunications provider Telefónica S.A. will pay $85.2 million to settle a charge that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act when it paid bribes to Venezuelan officials to gain preferential access to a currency auction.
Invesco Advisors agreed to pay $17.5 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle allegations that the company misled investors about the extent of its assets that included environmental, social, and governance factors.
