Four Brokers Settle Fund Class Charges
Securities regulators are continuing to crack down on brokers’ sales of higher-cost mutual fund shares.
In the latest such cases, four brokers settled charges that they pushed investors to purchase B-class shares of funds instead of A-class shares.
Investors would have received discounts on investments for larger purchases had they bought A shares, and they would have avoided higher annual expenses, said the NASD, formerly the National Assn. of Securities Dealers.
The four brokers who agreed to suspensions, as well as fines totaling $120,000, worked at Marsco Investment Corp. of Roseland, N.J.; Tucker Anthony Inc.’s Sturbridge, Mass. office; James Wheeler & Co. of Denver; and UBS Financial Services Inc.’s Pittsburgh office.
A broker at Staten Securities of Staten Island, N.Y. is contesting NASD charges.
“In recommending mutual funds with different classes to investors, the broker must put his customer first,” Mary Schapiro, NASD vice chairwoman, said in a news release.
