The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has ordered Edward Jones to pay a $1.1 million fine to settle a case involving the firm's failure to produce phone records over four years in a timely and complete manner.
According to the settlement order, Edward Jones also made inaccurate representations to investigators concerning which "call detail records" were available and failed to notify FINRA promptly after finding out about its mistakes.
The Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) states that the violations occurred after the firm implemented a policy of purging call records older than 18 months. This policy led to the firm's delayed or incomplete responses in ten investigations involving allegations of potential misconduct, including unauthorized trading, discretionary trading, and excessive trading, according to FinancialPlanning.com.
Through its failure to provide unreliable records, Edward Jones violated FINRA's Rule 8210 firms to provide information and records available concerning any matter involved in the investigation, complaint, examination, or proceeding. Edward Jones also violated FINRA's catch-all Rule 2010, which requires firms to observe high standards of commercial honor.
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