A provider of tradeable and thematic ETFs, Direxion will be using the services of SS&C ALPS Distributors, which will act as the underwriter and distributor for issuance, redemption and distribution of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds, officials say. SS&C ALPS, which is owned by SS&C Technologies, will help Direxion manage more than $40 billion… Read More >>
Merrill Lynch to Give Back $15.2M to Customers
FINRA, the self-regulatory organization for broker-dealers, has ordered Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith (MLPF&S) to pay $15.2 million-plus to “thousands of customers who purchased Class C mutual fund shares when Class A shares were available at substantially lower costs.” Looking at it from street level, you might be reminded of the shell game separating… Read More >>
FINRA Fines TFA for Alleged Supervisory Failures
FINRA, the financial services industry’s self-regulatory organization, reports that Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc. (TFA) has “agreed to pay approximately $4.4 million in restitution to approximately 2,400 customers for failing to supervise its registered representatives’ recommendations of three different products — variable annuities, mutual funds, and 529 plans.” FINRA also fined TFA an additional $4.4 million,… Read More >>
Merrill Lynch & FINRA Resolve Mutual Fund Fees Case
FINRA has ordered broker-dealer Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. to “pay more than $7.2 million in restitution and interest to customers who incurred unnecessary sales charges and paid excess fees in connection with mutual fund transactions.” In a formulation that will be familiar to FTF News readers, the firm says: “In settling this… Read More >>
Mutual Funds Must Revamp to Compete: PwC
U.S. mutual fund firms are at a critical juncture and they will have to revamp their strategies to provide more value to their clients, integrate data-driven IT platforms, and attract more talented staff if they want to stay competitive beyond 2025. Those are the high-level findings of a recent report, “Mutual fund outlook: The time… Read More >>
State Street Pays $88M to Settle Overbilling Charges
State Street Bank and Trust Company will pay more than $88 million to settle allegations that it overcharged mutual funds and other registered investment company clients for expenses related to the firm’s custody of client assets, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) report. The overcharges allegedly included a “secret markup that State Street… Read More >>
RJO Affiliate Launches OTC Agricultural Structured Products Group
New RJO Group Will Use Proprietary Software Officials at futures brokerage and clearing firm R.J. O’Brien & Associates (RJO) have announced that an affiliate R.J. O’Brien Financial has launched an over-the-counter (OTC) Agricultural Structured Products Group that will target commercial agricultural companies across the globe – a first for RJO. The bilateral OTC initiative will… Read More >>
Delta Data Service Offers Automation for Proprietary Funds
Delta Data, a data management systems vendor for mutual funds, is launching a solution to help trust companies, retirement recordkeepers, insurance companies and broker-dealers with the construction, trade execution and administration of highly customized proprietary funds. The new Proprietary Product Manager (PPM) service will facilitate the development and maintenance of proprietary products such as collective… Read More >>
Vanguard Applies Blockchain to Index Data Sharing Woes
Giant money manager Vanguard is using blockchain/distributed ledger technology (DLT) to minimize the risk and data mismatches that can sometimes complicate index data sharing processes. Vanguard is not working alone but via partnerships with the Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), a provider of historical databases, and vendor Symbiont, maker of smart contracts based… Read More >>
SunTrust Investment Services Hit by Charges of ‘Avoidable Fees’
SunTrust Investment Services (STIS), the investment services subsidiary of SunTrust Banks, an American bank holding company, has agreed to pay a penalty of more than $1.1 million to settle the SEC’s charges that it “collected more than $1.1 million in avoidable fees from clients by improperly recommending more expensive share classes of various mutual funds… Read More >>
