Adviser and Broker-Dealer Issues Play Out in Latest Share Class Settlement

The SEC reached a settlement with a dually-registered advisory firm / broker-dealer that involves the issue of recommending higher-cost share classes of securities to clients when lower-cost share-classes of securities are available. This latest share-class settlement has an added wrinkle in that the firm may have had a conflict of interest because, in its capacity as a broker-dealer, it allegedly received the additional service fee from the purchase of the higher-cost shares.