LPL, Massachusetts Reach Deal Tied to $26M Unregistered Securities Fine

As a result of this national accord, other states are expected to make similar announcements over the coming months; each of them entered into separate administrative orders tied to the deal. Under the terms of the agreement, LPL is set to pay a fine of about $499,000 to each of the 52 U.S. states and territories and to reimburse investors for unregistered securities purchased since 2006.

In May, NASAA explained that the national settlement stemmed from the IBD's "failure to establish and maintain reasonable policies and procedures to prevent the sale of unregistered, nonexempt [equity and fixed income] securities by LPL to its customers," according to NASAA.

At the time NASAA disclosed the settlement, LPL explained: "We take our compliance and risk management obligations seriously and will continue to dedicate resources to this important work moving forward. We believe these resources, combined with additional expertise we've hired in the field of blue sky compliance, position us well with respect to this issue in the future. Our focus now is on offering remediation to investors who may have been affected."

Blue sky regulations are those set by states to safeguard investors against securities fraud.

— Related on ThinkAdvisor:

• LPL Beats Earnings Estimates, but Will It Fall Behind?
• States Fine LPL $26M Over Unregistered Securities Sales