SEC online search tool allows investors to identify wrongdoers

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched an online search tool so investors can research whether the person trying to sell them investments has a judgment or order entered against them in an enforcement action.

The SEC Action Lookup for Individuals (SALI) is meant to help “the public make informed investment decisions and avoid financial fraud,” said the SEC in a release.

SALI will help identify registered and unregistered people who have been parties to past SEC enforcement actions and against whom federal courts have entered judgments or the SEC has issued orders.

“One of the SEC’s most important tasks is to arm our investors with the tools necessary to identify potential fraudsters,” said Jay Clayton, chairman at SEC, in the release. “An important risk factor is whether the person you are dealing with has a disciplinary history with the SEC or other regulators.”

Read: SEC proposes best interest rules for U.S. broker-dealers

Results from SALI will show “individuals who have settled, defaulted or contested an enforcement action brought by the SEC, provided that a final judgment or order was entered against them in a federal court or an administrative proceeding.”

The search results from SALI currently include parties from SEC actions filed between Oct.1, 2014 and March 31, 2018.

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Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.