Morgan Stanley Smith Barney to pay $15M penalty to settle SEC charges

NEW YORK CITY, New York: Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (MSSB) has agreed to pay a US$15 million penalty to settle charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) related to financial advisers who misappropriated millions from client accounts.

The settlement, announced this week, also addresses the firm's failure to implement policies to prevent such thefts.

According to the SEC order, MSSB lacked a