January 13, 2017

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney will pay a $13 million penalty to settle charges that it overbilled more than 149,000 investment advisory clients due to billing system errors.  According to the SEC’s order, Morgan Stanley received more than $16 million in excess fees between 2002 and 2016 due to more than 36 types of billing errors.  Morgan Stanley has reimbursed the full amount plus interest to affected clients.  The SEC’s order also found that Morgan Stanley failed to comply with the annual surprise custody examination requirements for two consecutive years when it did not provide its independent public accountant with an accurate or complete list of client funds and securities for examination.  SEC

Tagged in: Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud,