Twelve Firms Fined Over $63 Million Combined by U.S. Regulator for Violating Record-Keeping Regulations

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced fines totaling more than $63 million to 12 firms for violating record-keeping requirements.

The 12 firms, which included nine investment advisory firms and broker-dealers, and their staffs failed to maintain records of electronic communications. One of the firms self-reported the violations, and as a result, the SEC significantly reduced the amount of its fine.

The Commission found that the firms used unapproved methods of communication and that the violations involved multiple levels of staff. The penalized companies failed to supervise and prevent violations by their employees.

The firms each acknowledged their violations in their respective statements and will implement compliance policies and improvements.

“In order to effectively carry out their oversight responsibilities, the Commission’s Examinations and Enforcement Divisions must, and indeed do, rely heavily on registrants complying with the books and records requirements of the federal securities laws,” said Sanjay Wadhwa, Acting Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “When firms fall short of those obligations, the consequences go far beyond deficient document productions; such failures implicate the transparency and the integrity of the markets and their participants, like the firms at issue here.”

_{The 12 firms in the issue and the amout of their fines}