San Francisco-based robo adviser SoFi Wealth, LLC stands accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of “breaches of fiduciary duty” regarding approximately 20,000 exchange-traded-funds (ETF) customers. In the customary formulation, the advisory firm neither admits nor denies the SEC charges. However, it is paying the $300,000 penalty. And it has agreed to be censured and… Read More >>
Buy-Side Firms Want Data Science: Survey
Portfolio managers have no reason to fear data science as it cannot really replace what they do. But harnessing data in new ways could give them an unprecedented advantage, according to a survey of 300 asset management firms sponsored by custodian Northern Trust. “The business case for digital automation and the use of investment data… Read More >>
UBS Settles Volatility-Related ETP Case for $8M
UBS Financial Services Inc. has reached an $8 million settlement with the SEC over allegations that the firm had compliance failures via the sales of exchange-traded products (ETPs) tied to market volatility. UBS Financial Services Inc. is a broker-dealer and investment adviser that has had dual registration with the SEC since 1971, according to the… Read More >>
Merrill Lynch Pays $11M+ to Settle UIT Case
FINRA, the self-regulatory authority for broker-dealers, has fined Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. $3.25 million for “failing to reasonably supervise” early unit investment trust rollovers. In addition to the fine, the firm will be paying $8.4 million in restitution to “harmed” customers. In the usual formulation, Merrill Lynch neither confirms nor denies the… Read More >>
Bitcoin-Based Futures Are Risky Business: Regulators
An investor bulletin from the SEC and the CFTC is warning investors to be fully aware of the risks that come with Bitcoin-based futures given the many pitfalls that come with cryptocurrency trading. The “Funds Trading in Bitcoin Futures” bulletin from earlier this month targets “investors considering a fund with exposure to the Bitcoin futures… Read More >>
ICE’s Bitcoin Custody Firm Gets a BitLicense
NYSDFS Approves Bakkt Marketplace The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) has approved the application of Bakkt Marketplace, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bakkt Holdings, LLC, for virtual currency and money transmitter licenses, Financial Services Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell reports. The licenses will allow Bakkt Marketplace, a digital currency trading platform,… Read More >>
Empire State Bans & Fines Bitfinex & Tether
New York Attorney General Letitia James is requiring Bitfinex and Tether, two crypto-currency trading platforms, “to end all trading activity with New Yorkers.” Her reason for the exile? Their practices are allegedly “fraudulent and deceptive” and the crypto-traders are “hiding approximately $850 million in losses around the globe,” the New York A.G. says in a… Read More >>
Keep Hope Alive for 2021
It’s next to impossible to predict what the major trends in securities operations will be in 2021. The industry is still focused on what the new world will be after the fatal COVID-19 pandemic is defeated by vaccines and new behaviors. We may be in a holding pattern for at least the first six months… Read More >>
BlueCrest & SEC Resolve Charges of Investor Harm
BlueCrest Capital Management has settled charges via the SEC that it failed its investors by assigning its best human traders to a proprietary hedge fund while its external investors were serviced by an allegedly mediocre algorithm. The U.S. regulator reports that the hedge fund “has agreed to pay $170 million to settle charges arising from… Read More >>
Deutsche Bank Sells Postbank Systems to TCS
Sale Underscores Deutsche Bank’s Transformation Deutsche Bank is selling Postbank Systems AG to outsourcing giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a key milestone in the bank’s efforts to streamline operations and transform itself. “Under the terms of the transaction, TCS will acquire 100 percent of the shares of Postbank Systems AG from Deutsche Bank AG,” according… Read More >>
