In another first, the agency settled with zero-commission broker-dealer Robinhood for $65 million for its lack of disclosures regarding payment for order flow.
The regulator also awarded a record of $564 million to 108 whistleblowers in fiscal year 2021, according to the report.
In one of the whistleblower cases, the SEC charged a registered investment advisor with allegedly violating whistleblower protection laws and by retaliating against a known whistleblower who had information that led to enforcement against the firm for running a Ponzi-like scheme that raised more than $1.7 billion from more than 17,000 retail investors, the agency said.