Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin announced Thursday that his office has opened an investigation into Wells Fargo Advisors.
The investigation, Galvin’s second to reference the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, is seeking information from the firm related to its “inappropriate referrals of brokerage customers to managed and advisory accounts, unsuitable recommendations of alternative investments, as well as unsuitable referrals and recommendations in connection with 401(k) rollovers,” the securities regulator said in a statement.
“I am aware that there has been a recent trend in the industry to push investors into wealth management accounts which may bring more revenues to the firm, but which are not suitable for all investors,” Galvin said. “Given the recent retirement savings crisis in America, referrals and recommendations involving 401(k) accounts should be closely scrutinized, in light of the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule.”
Galvin made national headlines in February when he charged discount broker-dealer Scottrade with aggressive and improper sales practices in retail and retirement accounts in violation of the DOL’s rule—the first such case in the country.
Wells Fargo itself disclosed in a recent regulatory filing that it is “assessing whether there have been inappropriate referrals or recommendations, including with respect to rollovers for 401(k) plan participants, certain alternative investments, or referrals of brokerage customers to the company’s investment and fiduciary services business,” the Massachusetts securities division said in a release.
Galvin’s office said it is seeking additional information to determine the scope of Wells Fargo’s internal investigation as well as reasonable assurances that any Massachusetts investors affected by unsuitable recommendations will be made whole.
“Wells Fargo’s recent banking scandal, which involved opening bogus accounts for their customers, leads me to believe that where there is smoke, there’s fire,” Galvin continued. “I need to be assured that Massachusetts residents haven’t been burned by corporate greed.”
Debra O’Malley, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Office of the Commonwealth, said no case has been filed against Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo Advisors spokesperson Shea Leordeanu said: “Our top priority is to rebuild trust with all of our stakeholders. The disclosures in the 10-K filing reflect our continued commitment to transparency, even when all of the information or the final outcome of a matter may not be known just yet. We are making significant progress in our work to identify and fix any issues, make things right, and build a better, stronger company.”
As part of his case against Scottrade, Galvin called for the firm to return profits and is seeking an as-yet-undisclosed administrative fine and a censure against the firm for using aggressive sales contests to target retail and retirement investors with allegedly more expensive products.