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November 20, 2018 at 02:24 PM
The Securities and Exchange Commission has fined a California-based investment advisor $340,000 for failing to give advisory clients fee-breakpoint discounts that they were owed, resulting in clients being overcharged.
The securities regulator said in its Nov. 19 order that Retirement Capital Strategies Inc., headquartered in San Jose, failed to apply advisory fee discounts to certain client accounts contrary to its disclosures, representations to clients and the firm’s advisory agreements over an eight-year period.
From January 2010 through February 2018, RCS offered clients an advisory fee between 0.4% and 1.5% of clients’ assets under management based on fee breakpoints described in a fee schedule that reduced the advisory fee as client AUM increased, the order states.
RCS’ fee schedule was incorporated by reference in client advisory agreements, distributed to clients upon request, and, starting in 2011, disclosed in RCS’ Form ADV Part 2A filed with the commission.
RCS offered clients discretionary investment advisory services for a fee on its Strategic Wealth Management platform, the order states.
“RCS’ written policies and procedures manual stated that RCS was to conform its client fees and fee billing practices to those described in the Form ADV and in the advisory agreements provided to clients,” the order states.
