Page 24 - 期货和衍生品行业监管动态（2024年9月刊）

期货和衍生品行业监管动态

损失。这些协议包含的条款阻碍了客户向 SEC 报告潜在的违反证券法的行为，

约定仅在 SEC 率先启动调查的情况下才允许联系。一些协议还要求客户声明他

们未向 SEC 或其他证券监管机构报告相关争议，并且永远不会进行此类报告。

SEC 执法部资产管理部联合主管 Corey Schuster 表示：“毫无疑问，投资者

需要能够在没有任何阻碍的情况下向 SEC 投诉或报告违规证据。我们将继续追

究那些在 SEC 和投资者之间设置障碍的公司的责任。”

SEC 的命令发现，Nationwide、NPA 和 Blue Point 均违反了《1934 年证券交

易法》第 21F-17（a）条，这是一项吹哨人保护规则，禁止阻碍任何个人直接与

SEC 员工就可能发生的违反证券法的行为进行联系。Nationwide、NPA 和 Blue

Point 对 SEC 调查结果既不承认也不否认，均同意接受谴责，并停止违反吹哨人

保护规则的行为。三家公司还同意支付总计 24 万美元的罚款，罚款将根据它们

的相对规模和财务状况进行分配，NPA 支付 16 万美元，Nationwide 支付 7 万美
元，Blue Point 支付 1 万美元。

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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