Philadephia, Pennsylvania-based brokerage firm Janney Montgomery Scott agreed to pay a $45,000 FINRA fine as a result of various rules violations. One of the violations involved FINRA’s finding that Janney Montgomery had purchased municipal bonds for its own account from customers at unfair and unreasonable prices. Many brokerage firms have been fined as of late for such unfair pricing, which often results from brokerage firms charging investors excessive amounts for bond bond trades. These charges, known as markups and markdowns, historically have not been disclosed to investors, making it easy for brokerage firms to fleece investors without the investors having any knowledge of the wrongdoing. Bond investors can have their bond trades analyzed by a securiteis lawyer and can pursue FINRA arbitration claims against brokerage firms to recover excessive charges.
