Robo-adviser SOFI Wealth to pay $300,000 to settle SEC charges over conflicts

  • 8/19/2021
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Aug 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday that robo-adviser SOFI Wealth had agreed to pay $300,000 to settle allegations it failed to disclose conflicts of interest when reallocating customer funds to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) sponsored by its parent. In 2019, San Francisco-based SOFI Wealth sold assets in approximately 20,000 automated portfolio accounts from ETFs provided by a third party and reallocated the funds to ETFs provided by its parent, SoFi, causing many clients to realize taxable gains. In doing so, the company failed to provide "full and fair disclosure" over conflicts of interest, including that its parent had an economic interest in the new ETFs; that it was reallocating the funds to help market the SoFi brand as having "having a broader array of services and products than previously offered;" and that the company also wanted to boost the liquidity of its own ETFs to make them more attractive, the SEC said. The company neither admitted nor denied the SEC"s allegations.

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