UBS Will Pay $8 Million to Settle Alleged ETP Compliance Lapses
UBS will pay more than $8 million to settle charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which argued the firm failed to ensure compliance among its financial advisors who recommended an exchange-traded product (ETP) linked to short-term market volatility.
The settlement with UBS marks the second stemming from the commission’s ETP Initiative, meant to crack down on financial services firms selling inappropriate funds to retail clients. Last November, the SEC settled charges with five firms facing their own alleged compliance lapses, including Summit Financial Group and Securities America Advisors.
“Advisory firms must protect clients from inappropriate investments in complex financial products,” Daniel Michael, chief at the Enforcement Division’s Complex Financial Instruments Unit, said in a statement about the UBS order. “We will continue to scrutinize firms’ policies and procedures related to these risky products, and we will take action when they are inadequate.”
