SEC Charges Nine Investment Advisers With Violating Investment Adviser Marketing Rule

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today charged nine registered investment advisers for advertising hypothetical performance to the public on their websites without having adopted and/or implemented policies and procedures required by the Marketing Rule. The firms – Banorte Asset Management Inc., BTS Asset Management Inc., Elm Partners Management LLC, Hansen and Associates Financial Group Inc., Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC, Macroclimate LLC, McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC, MRA Advisory Group, and Trowbridge Capital Partners LLC– have agreed to settle the charges and to pay a combined penalty of $850,000. The SEC's orders found that each of the firms advertised hypothetical performance on their websites without having in place the necessary policies and procedures required by the Marketing Rule. Two of the firms, Macroclimate LLC and MRA Advisory Group, also failed to maintain required copies of their advertisements. In order to settle the charges, the firms have agreed to be censured, cease and desist from violating the charged provisions, comply with undertakings not to advertise hypothetical performance without having required policies and procedures, and pay civil penalties ranging from $50,000 to $175,000 each.