Finra fines three former Cetera firms over sales

Investors Capital, J.P. Turner and VSR to pay $698,612 for pushing higher-priced fund classes.
DEC 11, 2017

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censured three former units of Cetera—Investors Capital Corp., J.P. Turner & Co. and VSR Financial Services—for selling Class A shares with a front-end load, or Class B or Class C shares to customers who were eligible for Class A shares without a load. The firms agreed to pay restitution in the amounts of $437,674, $213,137 and $47,801, respectively. Investors Capital Corp. was absorbed into Cetera Advisors in 2016. Cetera closed J.P. Turner in 2015, and in 2016 Cetera folded VSR into its Summit Brokerage Services. (More: Can Robert Moore save Cetera?) In its letters of acceptance, waiver and consent, Finra said that for several years the three firms charged certain retirement-plan and charitable-organization customers higher-priced versions of the same funds that the customers were eligible to buy at lower cost. Finra said all three firms "failed to establish and maintain written procedures to identify applicable sales charge waivers in fund prospectuses for eligible customers." It also said the firms failed to adequately notify and train their financial advisers about the lower-cost funds, and failed to adopt adequate controls to detect instances in which their brokers did not provide sales charge waivers to eligible customers for their mutual fund purchases.

Latest News

Maryland bars advisor over charging excessive fees to clients
Maryland bars advisor over charging excessive fees to clients

Blue Anchor Capital Management and Pickett also purchased “highly aggressive and volatile” securities, according to the order.

Wave of SEC appointments signals regulatory shift with implications for financial advisors
Wave of SEC appointments signals regulatory shift with implications for financial advisors

Reshuffle provides strong indication of where the regulator's priorities now lie.

US insurers want to take a larger slice of the retirement market through the RIA channel
US insurers want to take a larger slice of the retirement market through the RIA channel

Goldman Sachs Asset Management report reveals sharpened focus on annuities.

Why DA Davidson's wealth vice chairman still follows his dad's investment advice
Why DA Davidson's wealth vice chairman still follows his dad's investment advice

Ahead of Father's Day, InvestmentNews speaks with Andrew Crowell.

401(k) participants seek advice, but few turn to financial advisors
401(k) participants seek advice, but few turn to financial advisors

Cerulli research finds nearly two-thirds of active retirement plan participants are unadvised, opening a potential engagement opportunity.

SPONSORED RILAs bring stability, growth during volatile markets

Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today’s choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.

SPONSORED Beyond the dashboard: Making wealth tech human

How intelliflo aims to solve advisors' top tech headaches—without sacrificing the personal touch clients crave