SEC Charges Merrill Lynch for Failing to Disclose Foreign Exchange Fees to Clients

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 and has agreed to distribute funds to harmed clients. The SEC’s order finds that, between May 2016 and July 2020, Merrill Lynch offered programs to advisory clients in which the clients paid Merrill a fee in exchange for a range of investment advisory services, including foreign currency exchanges.