Firms Fined. Exane, Inc. was fined$50,000 for failing to establish management controls and supervisory procedures to manage the financial and regulatory risks of the business. The firm’s credit limit controls were not automated nor applied on a pre-trade basis to prevent order entries that exceeded the pre-set capital thresholds for each customer.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an asset freeze to stop Lisa McElhone and Joseph W. LaForte’s fraudulent scheme worth $500 million. The scheme involved raising investor funds via unregistered securities offerings for Complete Business Solutions Group. Complete Business Solutions is a cash advance company that conducts business as Par Funding.

On September 4, 2019, the  Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) issued a Risk Alert related to principal trading and agency cross transactions under Section 206(3) of the Advisers Act. These topics were identified in recent examinations of investment advisers.