SEC bars two advisers for cherry-picking clients' trades

The Securities and Exchange Commission has barred two state-registered RIAs for allocating trades in client accounts in ways that benefitted the advisers at the expense of clients. California-registered investment adviser Jeremy Licht, who did business as JL Capital Management in Sherman Oaks, also was ordered to disgorge $88,504 "in ill-gotten gains from his cherry-picking scheme," in which he directed a disproportionate number of profitable trades to his own account while directing a disproportionate share of losing trades to his clients' accounts. In addition, he was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $181,071. For similar trading violations, Gary Howarth and his Howarth Financial Services in Portland, Ore., was ordered to disgorge $38,172 and prejudgment interest of $5,272, as well as pay $160,000 in civil penalties.