The Securities and Exchange Commission today suspended two former KPMG auditors from practicing before the SEC in connection with settled charges against the two for improper professional conduct during an audit of the now defunct, not-for-profit College of New Rochelle.

Nearly three-quarters (70%) of Americans are considering adding another source of income after witnessing the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey released today from the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA).

According to Conning, high dividend equity strategies can serve institutional investors in this period of low interest rates by enhancing income and portfolio diversification along with the potential for capital appreciation.

A new research report reveals that while nearly half of mid-size bank and credit union executives are more optimistic about 2021 relative to 2020, they remain especially concerned about the interest rate environment and a weak economy.

Women investors in 2020 reported significantly higher levels of concern about a U.S. economic recession in the next 12 months than they did in 2019 as well as greater concern about a bear market in the next 12 months than they did the prior year, according to Nationwide’s Advisor Authority study.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it has filed an action against Ripple Labs Inc. and two of its executives, who are also significant security holders, alleging that they raised over $1.3 billion through an unregistered, ongoing digital asset securities offering.

The SEC today announced charges against California-based biotechnology company Decision Diagnostics Corp. and its CEO, Keith Berman, with making false and misleading claims in numerous press releases that the company had developed a working, break-through technology that could accurately detect Covid-19 through a quick blood test.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the creation of the Security-Based Swaps Joint Venture, a collaborative venture among several SEC divisions and offices that will be responsible for coordinating functions related to the regulation of security-based swaps.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged China-based company Luckin Coffee Inc. with defrauding investors by materially misstating the company’s revenue, expenses, and net operating loss in an effort to falsely appear to achieve rapid growth and increased profitability.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged New York-based brand-management company Sequential Brands Group Inc. with failing to impair its goodwill as required by accounting principles and the federal securities laws.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that General Electric Co. (GE) has agreed to pay a $200 million penalty to settle charges for disclosure failures in its power and insurance businesses. In 2017 and 2018, GE’s stock price fell almost 75% as challenges in its power and insurance businesses were disclosed to the public.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that UK-based investment adviser BlueCrest Capital Management Limited has agreed to pay $170 million to settle charges arising from inadequate disclosures, material misstatements, and misleading omissions concerning its transfer of top traders from its flagship client fund.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated for making misleading disclosures about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business operations and financial condition.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged disbarred attorney, Richard J. Rubin, and licensed attorney, Thomas J. Craft, with fraud for their roles in a legal opinion letter scheme to fraudulently facilitate the sale of millions of shares of microcap securities to retail investors.

The SEC charged New York resident Mark Alan Lisser with fraud for operating at least two boiler rooms, on Long Island, New York and in Boca Raton, Florida, through which he raised approximately $2.1 million from at least 71 retail investors and misappropriated more than $900,000 of their funds.

The Sandwich Generation has become increasingly younger, more female, and more diverse as a result of the pandemic.

Most Americans fail a financial fluency quiz of key investment selection terms, and confusion over a term like “passive investing” can translate into saving less and lower use of investment products, according to a new report

The program guides financial planners through a step-by-step process to establish a customized, long-term cybersecurity plan that ensures they are adopting reliable security measures that safeguard client data and provide a record of the firm’s cybersecurity practices if audited by regulators.

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of advisors find that working from home has been just as effective as working from the office, and 86% report that they have been able to host productive virtual meetings with clients. Millennial advisors have been most successful during the transition to remote working, with 90% able to host productive virtual client meetings.

The SEC charged Daniel Kamensky, co-chair of the unsecured creditors committee in the Neiman Marcus Group Ltd. LLC Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, with abusing his position on the committee to attempt to benefit a New York-based management firm that he founded and where he served as managing partner and portfolio manager.

The 2021 MDRT Executive Committee “focuses on supporting the industry, its members and their clients during unprecedented times” as Ian Green, Dip PFS, takes his place as 95th president and Gregory Gagne joins as secretary, the organization said in a news release.

Nearly half (49%) of respondents say their monthly spending has decreased over the course of the last year. Among that group, more than half (53%) say they are spending less because they are worried about the current economic situation and another 26% are spending less because they say their monthly income has decreased.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged two Maryland companies Friday and their principals for a scheme that allegedly defrauded approximately 1,200 investors, many of them African immigrants, of more than $27 million.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. has agreed to pay more than $67 million to settle charges that it violated the books and records and internal accounting controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has filed an emergency action against Florida-based investment adviser Coral Gables Asset Management LLC and its sole owner, David C. Coggins, in connection with an alleged fraudulent offering.

At the end of July, the American Association of Individual Investors announced a four-year low in the Investor Sentiment Survey. This marks a jump in optimism when compared with the end-of-July survey, which ranked among the 40 lowest readings ever recorded by the AAII Sentiment Survey. “Bullish sentiment has been below average since mid-March when the…

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged former Hertz CEO and Chairman Mark Frissora with aiding and abetting the company in its filing of inaccurate financial statements and disclosures. Frissora has agreed to settle the charges and repay Hertz nearly $2 million in incentive-based compensation.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Monday that Interactive Brokers LLC will pay an $11.5 million penalty to settle charges it repeatedly failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) for U.S. microcap securities trades it executed on behalf of its customers.

The SEC announced that it filed an emergency action and obtained a temporary restraining order and asset freeze against two Pennsylvania-based brothers and three entities they control to stop an offering alleged fraud and the misappropriation of investor proceeds.

International insurance company AmTrust Financial Services Inc. and its former CFO Ronald E. Pipoly Jr. with failing to disclose material facts about how the company estimated its insurance losses and reserves.

According to the complaint, Frederick Stow acted as the veteran’s registered representative for more than three decades and inserted himself over time into the veteran’s personal and financial affairs. In October 2015, Stow allegedly began making unauthorized sales of securities from the veteran’s individual retirement account.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a penny stock trader in Santa Cruz, Calif., with conducting a fraudulent pump-and-dump scheme in the stock of a biotechnology company by making hundreds of misleading statements, including a false assertion that the company had developed an “approved” COVID-19 blood test.

Brighthouse Financial, Inc. is one of two insurers selected by BlackRock, Inc. to help deliver LifePath Paycheck™, a next-generation investment solution being developed by BlackRock. The investment will be for use in retirement plans and include an annuity option.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against blockchain services company BitClave, headquartered in San Jose, Calif., for conducting an unregistered initial coin offering (ICO) of digital asset securities.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has filed an emergency action and obtained a temporary restraining order and asset freeze against a California-registered investment adviser and his entities to halt an ongoing Ponzi scheme targeting senior citizens in Southern California.

The SEC settled charges against three former KPMG LLP audit partners for improperly sharing answers to internal training exams and for subsequent wrongdoing during an investigation of exam sharing misconduct at the firm.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has been appointed as receiver over Florida-based investment adviser TCA Fund Management Group and its affiliates as the companies address allegations of fraud.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has agreed to settle charges — and pay a $5 million fine — that it provided misleading information to clients in its retail wrap fee programs regarding trade execution services and transaction costs.

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) announced today that it has postponed the July 2020 CFP® Certification Exam administration to September 22-29, 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the change, officials said.

Although taxes and protecting assets remain top concerns, roughly one-quarter of high net worth and ultra high net worth investors still do not have advisors, a study revealed.