Page 24 - 期貨和衍生品行業監管動態（2024年9月刊）

期貨和衍生品行業監管動態

損失。這些協議包含的條款阻礙了客戶向 SEC 報告潛在的違反證券法的行為，

約定僅在 SEC 率先啟動調查的情況下才允許聯系。一些協議還要求客戶聲明他

們未向 SEC 或其他證券監管機構報告相關爭議，并且永遠不會進行此類報告。

SEC 執法部資產管理部聯合主管 Corey Schuster 表示：“毫無疑問，投資者

需要能夠在沒有任何阻礙的情況下向 SEC 投訴或報告違規證據。我們將繼續追

究那些在 SEC 和投資者之間設置障礙的公司的責任。”

SEC 的命令發現，Nationwide、NPA 和 Blue Point 均違反了《1934 年證券交

易法》第 21F-17（a）條，這是一項吹哨人保護規則，禁止阻礙任何個人直接與

SEC 員工就可能發生的違反證券法的行為進行聯系。Nationwide、NPA 和 Blue

Point 對 SEC 調查結果既不承認也不否認，均同意接受譴責，并停止違反吹哨人

保護規則的行為。三家公司還同意支付總計 24 萬美元的罰款，罰款將根據它們

的相對規模和財務狀況進行分配，NPA 支付 16 萬美元，Nationwide 支付 7 萬美
元，Blue Point 支付 1 萬美元。

SEC Charges Broker-Dealer Nationwide Planning and Two Affiliated Investment

Advisers with Violating Whistleblower Protection Rule (2024/9/4)

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges

against three affiliated registrants, Commission-registered broker-dealer Nationwide

Planning Associates, Inc. and investment adviser NPA Asset Management, LLC, and

state-registered investment adviser Blue Point Strategic Wealth Management, LLC,

for impeding brokerage customers and advisory clients from reporting securities law

violations to the SEC. The firms agreed to pay combined civil penalties of $240,000

to settle the SEC’s charges.

According to the SEC’s order, from May 2021 through February 2024,

Nationwide, NPA, and Blue Point collectively asked 11 retail clients to sign

confidentiality agreements in connection with payments made by the entities to the

clients’ investment accounts. The payments were intended to compensate the clients

for losses caused by the firms’ alleged breaches of federal or state securities laws. The

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