Beginning in 2013, Edward Jones undertook some remedial measures to boost compliance efforts, including the disclosure of markups and markdowns, the SEC said.
In one instance, the firm’s mispricing resulted in an adverse federal tax determination for some Build America Bonds issued by the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) in 2009. In July 2013, the NPPD resolved the tax dispute by paying $350,000 to the IRS. Edward Jones later agreed to reimburse the NPPD for the tax penalty.
The settlement involves about 13,000 current and former Edward Jones clients, said Edward Jones spokesman John Boul.
“Those folks will all be fully compensated with interest,” Boul said.
The firm has “cooperated fully” with the SEC on the investigation which began about three years ago, he added, “and the SEC acknowledged in its order the positive steps we’ve taken” to improve supervision.