SEC Charges Brokerage Firm for Short Sale and Other Violations
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING
File No. 3-19453
September 16, 2019 - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Vandham Securities Corp., formerly a registered broker-dealer based in New Jersey, for violating federal securities laws governing the execution of short sales, the publication of quotations in unlisted securities, and the submission of suspicious activity reports (SARs).
The SEC's order finds that Vandham's customers were primarily other broker-dealers engaged in the liquidation of large volumes of shares in thinly traded, low priced over-the-counter stocks held by their customers. From at least January 2016 through April 2017 , while registered with the SEC, Vandham derived the majority of its revenue from the trading profits it generated by facilitating the sale of such shares into the market for two broker-dealer customers.
According to the order, Vandham routinely facilitated its broker-dealer customers' sales into the market by executing short sales throughout the day for its own account in the stocks being sold by these other firms on behalf of their customers. The order finds that Vandham later purchased shares in those stocks at a lower price from the other firms, also in its own account, to cover Vandham's short positions. For at least several thousand such short sales during the relevant period, Vandham failed to locate shares of those stocks that it could borrow. The order further finds that Vandham often published offers on OTC Link's electronic quotation service to sell shares it had purchased from its broker-dealer customers without first obtaining and reviewing required documents and information about the shares' issuers. Also according to the order, Vandham did not implement its policies and procedures so as to reasonably address the risks of its business model, and as a result, Vandham failed to adequately investigate its customers' transactions and failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports for numerous transactions that displayed red flags identified in Vandham's own policies and procedures.
The SEC's order charges Vandham with violating the short-selling provisions of Regulation SHO Rule 203(b)(1), the quotation-publication provisions of Rule 15c2-11 promulgated under the Exchange Act of 1934, and the SAR-filing provisions of Section 17(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 17a-8 thereunder. Without admitting or denying the SEC's findings, Vandham agreed to be censured, to cease-and-desist from committing or causing violations or future violations of those provisions of the federal securities laws, and to pay a $200,000 civil penalty.
The SEC's investigation was conducted by David Zetlin-Jones, Daphne Downs, and George Stepaniuk, and was supervised by Sanjay Wadhwa of the New York Regional Office. The SEC's examination that led to the investigation was conducted by Hermann Vargas, Michael P. Fioribello, and Steven Vitulano, with assistance from Ilan S. Felix, and was supervised by Robert A. Sollazzo of the New York Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of FINRA
======================
in the ongoing shell game ..
Broker-Dealer Vandham Securities Joins Wall Street Access
Vandham will operate under the Wall Street Access brand and continue to offer highly personalized, client-focused trading and market-making services across the globe
NEW YORK, July 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Wall Street Access (WSA), a diversified financial services firm, today announced that Vandham Securities Corp has joined the firm , in a combination that brings together two well-established, privately owned broker-dealers with a commitment to client service, technology and an entrepreneurial culture.
In the transaction, WSA will acquire the assets and client relationships of Vandham, which will continue to operate from its offices in Park Ridge and Marlboro, New Jersey, and Huntington, New York. The combined firm will operate under the Wall Street Access brand.
Independently owned and operated for more than 28 years, Vandham Securities is a leading international market-making brokerage well known as a destination for the institutional investment community.
"We welcome Vandham and its clients to the Wall Street Access family," said Sean Kelleher, President of Wall Street Access. "Vandham is acknowledged as one of the leading market makers in the business, with particular experience in international trading as well as in ADR and overnight conversion markets. Our new partnership will leverage this market leadership with Wall Street Access's relationships and capital base to ensure continued growth and success for the benefit of all our clients."
Chris Catrini of Vandham Securities said: "Our new relationship with Wall Street Access represents a great moment for our clients and our firm. Independently owned and operated for more than 35 years, Wall Street Access brings a strong balance sheet and considerable resources to Vandham clients. They also share our expertise in the high-touch services our clients have come to expect. At both our firms, success comes down to providing the people, the infrastructure and the capital to serve clients of all sizes—both in domestic markets and internationally."
Wall Street Access' continued growth comes on the heels of two major announcements last year. In August 2017, WSA acquired a majority stake in RJL Capital Group, LLC, a prime brokerage and trading services firm headquartered in New York City. In April, WSA's Asset and Wealth Management division acquired Boston-based NU Paradigm, an investment advisory, asset management, and outsourced CIO firm. In addition to its broker-dealer business, Wall Street Access now manages more than $370 million in assets for institutional investors and high net worth families.
"Wall Street Access continues to look for opportunities to work with broker-dealers looking for a strategic partner with a strong balance sheet, robust operational infrastructure, and a well-managed finance and compliance team," Kelleher said.
About Wall Street Access
Wall Street Access combines an independent, entrepreneurial culture with a decades-long commitment to building and operating a diverse set of successful financial services businesses, including global and domestic equity trading, market making, prime brokerage services, and asset management. Wall Street Access makes markets in fixed income, specializing in high-grade corporate bonds, municipal bonds and CDs. They are also a high-touch execution services broker for listed options. WSA clears its trades through BNY Mellon's Pershing LLC, and through ICBC Financial Services LLC, a subsidiary of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. WSA has the expertise and flexibility to quickly seize emerging opportunities and have successfully evolved through up and down market cycles while always remaining a trusted and reliable partner to their clients.
Wall Street Access is a member of the NYSE, FINRA, ISE, and SIPC. To learn more, please visit www.wsaccess.com.
Contact:
Isaac Benjamin Ibenjamin@prcg.com
Jim Haggerty Jhaggerty@prcg.com
PRCG|Haggerty
(212) 683-8100
SOURCE Wall Street Access
Related Links
www.wsaccess.com
===========================
Read More: https://investorshangout.com/post/view?id=554...z60Xd4KBgQ
ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING
File No. 3-19453
September 16, 2019 - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced settled charges against Vandham Securities Corp., formerly a registered broker-dealer based in New Jersey, for violating federal securities laws governing the execution of short sales, the publication of quotations in unlisted securities, and the submission of suspicious activity reports (SARs).
The SEC's order finds that Vandham's customers were primarily other broker-dealers engaged in the liquidation of large volumes of shares in thinly traded, low priced over-the-counter stocks held by their customers. From at least January 2016 through April 2017 , while registered with the SEC, Vandham derived the majority of its revenue from the trading profits it generated by facilitating the sale of such shares into the market for two broker-dealer customers.
According to the order, Vandham routinely facilitated its broker-dealer customers' sales into the market by executing short sales throughout the day for its own account in the stocks being sold by these other firms on behalf of their customers. The order finds that Vandham later purchased shares in those stocks at a lower price from the other firms, also in its own account, to cover Vandham's short positions. For at least several thousand such short sales during the relevant period, Vandham failed to locate shares of those stocks that it could borrow. The order further finds that Vandham often published offers on OTC Link's electronic quotation service to sell shares it had purchased from its broker-dealer customers without first obtaining and reviewing required documents and information about the shares' issuers. Also according to the order, Vandham did not implement its policies and procedures so as to reasonably address the risks of its business model, and as a result, Vandham failed to adequately investigate its customers' transactions and failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports for numerous transactions that displayed red flags identified in Vandham's own policies and procedures.
The SEC's order charges Vandham with violating the short-selling provisions of Regulation SHO Rule 203(b)(1), the quotation-publication provisions of Rule 15c2-11 promulgated under the Exchange Act of 1934, and the SAR-filing provisions of Section 17(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 17a-8 thereunder. Without admitting or denying the SEC's findings, Vandham agreed to be censured, to cease-and-desist from committing or causing violations or future violations of those provisions of the federal securities laws, and to pay a $200,000 civil penalty.
The SEC's investigation was conducted by David Zetlin-Jones, Daphne Downs, and George Stepaniuk, and was supervised by Sanjay Wadhwa of the New York Regional Office. The SEC's examination that led to the investigation was conducted by Hermann Vargas, Michael P. Fioribello, and Steven Vitulano, with assistance from Ilan S. Felix, and was supervised by Robert A. Sollazzo of the New York Regional Office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of FINRA
======================
in the ongoing shell game ..
Broker-Dealer Vandham Securities Joins Wall Street Access
Vandham will operate under the Wall Street Access brand and continue to offer highly personalized, client-focused trading and market-making services across the globe
NEW YORK, July 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Wall Street Access (WSA), a diversified financial services firm, today announced that Vandham Securities Corp has joined the firm , in a combination that brings together two well-established, privately owned broker-dealers with a commitment to client service, technology and an entrepreneurial culture.
In the transaction, WSA will acquire the assets and client relationships of Vandham, which will continue to operate from its offices in Park Ridge and Marlboro, New Jersey, and Huntington, New York. The combined firm will operate under the Wall Street Access brand.
Independently owned and operated for more than 28 years, Vandham Securities is a leading international market-making brokerage well known as a destination for the institutional investment community.
"We welcome Vandham and its clients to the Wall Street Access family," said Sean Kelleher, President of Wall Street Access. "Vandham is acknowledged as one of the leading market makers in the business, with particular experience in international trading as well as in ADR and overnight conversion markets. Our new partnership will leverage this market leadership with Wall Street Access's relationships and capital base to ensure continued growth and success for the benefit of all our clients."
Chris Catrini of Vandham Securities said: "Our new relationship with Wall Street Access represents a great moment for our clients and our firm. Independently owned and operated for more than 35 years, Wall Street Access brings a strong balance sheet and considerable resources to Vandham clients. They also share our expertise in the high-touch services our clients have come to expect. At both our firms, success comes down to providing the people, the infrastructure and the capital to serve clients of all sizes—both in domestic markets and internationally."
Wall Street Access' continued growth comes on the heels of two major announcements last year. In August 2017, WSA acquired a majority stake in RJL Capital Group, LLC, a prime brokerage and trading services firm headquartered in New York City. In April, WSA's Asset and Wealth Management division acquired Boston-based NU Paradigm, an investment advisory, asset management, and outsourced CIO firm. In addition to its broker-dealer business, Wall Street Access now manages more than $370 million in assets for institutional investors and high net worth families.
"Wall Street Access continues to look for opportunities to work with broker-dealers looking for a strategic partner with a strong balance sheet, robust operational infrastructure, and a well-managed finance and compliance team," Kelleher said.
About Wall Street Access
Wall Street Access combines an independent, entrepreneurial culture with a decades-long commitment to building and operating a diverse set of successful financial services businesses, including global and domestic equity trading, market making, prime brokerage services, and asset management. Wall Street Access makes markets in fixed income, specializing in high-grade corporate bonds, municipal bonds and CDs. They are also a high-touch execution services broker for listed options. WSA clears its trades through BNY Mellon's Pershing LLC, and through ICBC Financial Services LLC, a subsidiary of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. WSA has the expertise and flexibility to quickly seize emerging opportunities and have successfully evolved through up and down market cycles while always remaining a trusted and reliable partner to their clients.
Wall Street Access is a member of the NYSE, FINRA, ISE, and SIPC. To learn more, please visit www.wsaccess.com.
Contact:
Isaac Benjamin Ibenjamin@prcg.com
Jim Haggerty Jhaggerty@prcg.com
PRCG|Haggerty
(212) 683-8100
SOURCE Wall Street Access
Related Links
www.wsaccess.com
===========================
Read More: https://investorshangout.com/post/view?id=554...z60Xd4KBgQ
