"The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated for charging advisory clients more than $4 million in undisclosed foreign exchange fees for transfers to or from their accounts. To settle the charges, Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty totaling more than $9.5 million," the statement said.
Merrill Lynch has also agreed to distribute funds to the clients that suffered harm for its practice, the statement added.
In the period between May 2016 and July 2020, Merrill Lynch offered programs to advisory clients in which they paid the company a fee in exchange for a range of investment advisory services, including foreign currency exchanges. However, the company did not disclose to its clients that it was charging a major fee related to transactions, the statement said.
"Merrill Lynch paid a percentage of these production credits to its financial advisers and referred to this charge as a commission in internal documents," the statement added.
The SEC’s order also finds that Merrill Lynch failed to adopt and implement policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent its disclosures from being misleading about the fees it charged on foreign currency exchanges, according to the statement.