The regulator has announced settled charges involving 79 US financial advisors for failings such as lack of disclosure.

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday settled charges against 79 investment advisors who will return more than $125 million to clients, having found undisclosed conflicts and disclosure failings.

The actions stem from the SEC’s Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative, which the SEC announced in February last year to identify and stop advisors’ harmful practices in selling mutual fund shares.

Such actions underscore why wealth advisors’ fiduciary responsibility to serve clients’ best interests remains an industry sore point. The Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, due to become law last June, was derailed, although policymakers are attempting reforms which may or may not bear fruit. At stake is the issue of whether sales-driven advice creates inherent conflicts of interest and whether advisors should charge an up-front fee instead. The issue is not peculiar to the US – the UK adopted reforms in 2013 designed to stop abuses. Australia’s financial services industry has been recently roiled by scandals about poor advice and over-charging.

The SEC said its move encouraged advisors to “self-report” violations of the Advisers Act resulting from undisclosed conflicts of interest, to promptly compensate investors, and review and correct fee disclosures.  

“The SEC’s orders found that the investment advisors failed to adequately disclose conflicts of interest related to the sale of higher-cost mutual fund share classes when a lower-cost share class was available,” the regulator said in a statement.

“Investment advisors, as fiduciaries, have an obligation to make full and fair disclosure to clients and prospective clients concerning their material conflicts of interest, including conflicts arising from financial incentives, and to act consistently with those disclosures,” it continued.

Last February the SEC’s Division of Enforcement said it was setting up the Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative to address ongoing concerns that, in spite of the fiduciary duty imposed by the Advisers Act, and other measures, advisors were not adequately disclosing, or acting consistently with the disclosure regarding, conflicts of interest related to their mutual fund share class selection practices. 

The SEC said it continues to examine self-reports that were received from investment advisors prior to the initiative cut-off date.

The following firms were charged by the SEC:

Ameritas Investment Corp.
AXA Advisors LLC
BB&T Securities LLC
Beacon Investment Management LLC
Benchmark Capital Advisors LLC
Benjamin F Edwards & Co Inc
Blyth & Associates Inc
BOK Financial Securities Inc
Calton & Associates Inc
Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc
Cantella & Co Inc
Client One Securities LLC
Coastal Investment Advisors Inc
Comerica Securities Inc
Commonwealth Equity Services LLC
CUSO Financial Services LP
D A Davidson & Co
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc
EFG Asset Management (Americas) Corp
Financial Management Strategies Inc
First Citizens Asset Management Inc
First Citizens Investor Services Inc
First Kentucky Securities Corporation
First National Capital Markets Inc
First Republic Investment Management Inc
Hazlett, Burt & Watson Inc
Hefren-Tillotson Inc
Huntington Investment Company, The
Infinex Investments Inc
Investacorp Advisory Services Inc
Investmark Advisory Group LLC
Investment Research Corp
J J B Hilliard, W.L. Lyons LLC
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC
Kestra Advisory Services LLC
Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC
Kovack Advisors Inc.
L.M. Kohn & Company
LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC
Lockwood Advisors Inc
LPL Financial LLC 
M Holdings Securities Inc
MIAI Inc
National Asset Management Inc
NBC Securities Inc
Next Financial Group Inc
Northeast Asset Management LLC
Oppenheimer & Co Inc
Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc
Park Avenue Securities LLC
PlanMember Securities Corporation
Popular Securities LLC
Principal Securities Inc
Private Portfolio Inc
ProEquities Inc
Provise Management Group LLC
Questar Asset Management Inc
Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc
Raymond Lawrence Lent (d/b/a The Putney Financial Group, Registered Investment Advisors)
RBC Capital Markets LLC
Robert W Baird & Co Incorporated
Ryan Financial Advisors Inc
SA Stone Investment Advisors Inc
Santander Securities LLC
Select Money Management Inc
Silversage Advisors
Sorrento Pacific Financial LLC
Spire Wealth Management LLC
SSN Advisory Inc
Stephens Inc
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company Incorporated
Summit Financial Group Inc
Syndicated Capital Inc
TIAA-CREF Individual & Institutional Services LLC
Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc
Trustcore Financial Services LLC
Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC
Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network LLC
Woodbury Financial Services Inc

For a list of firms that have been punished or settled for offences, see this global list here. Note that details can be revised depending on circumstances.