SEC Fines Beverly Hills Advisor

A Beverly Hills investment advisor has agreed to repay $310,000 in overcharges stemming from what the Securities and Exchange Commission called unequal treatment of clients from 1997 through 1999.

The SEC, which announced the settlement Tuesday, also censured Daniel H. Renberg and his Renberg Capital Management Inc. and levied a $40,000 fine. Renberg didn’t admit wrongdoing. His attorney said Renberg made nothing on the transactions and believed there were legitimate reasons for them.

The SEC charged Renberg with failing to obtain the best execution costs for clients. He had purchased securities at the best open-market prices for clients with tax-free accounts, then sold some of the securities from those accounts to clients with taxable accounts, always charging more than the open-market price, the SEC said.