SEC Charges Advisory Firm GQG Partners With Violating Whistleblower Protection Rule

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Florida-based GQG Partners LLC, a registered investment adviser, for entering into agreements with candidates for employment and a former employee that made it more difficult for them to report potential securities law violations to the SEC. According to the SEC’s order, from November 2020 through September 2023, GQG entered into non-disclosure agreements with 12 candidates for employment that prohibited them from disclosing confidential information about GQG, including to government agencies. While the agreements permitted the candidates to respond to requests for information from the Commission, it required notification to GQG of any such request and prohibited responding to requests arising from a candidate’s voluntary disclosure.