Valley Forge allegedly obtained more than $4.7 million in excess compensation from its clients from 2013 to 2016.
In its investigation, the Commission found that investors chose Valley Forge because it did not provide adequate information about its brokerage services and price offerings.
“Valley Forge charged commissions averaging roughly 4.5 times more than what clients would have paid using other brokerage options, and the firm obscured the price difference by claiming that it was giving clients a 70 percent discount off of its supposed retail commission rate,” according to the regulator.
The SEC concluded that BB&T Securities, as successor-in-interest to Valley Forge, willfully violated Sections 206(2) and 207 of the Advisers Act.
In a statement, “Valley Forge put its own interests ahead of its advisory clients, causing them to spend more money unnecessarily by portraying inaccurate costs and benefits of using its in-house brokerage,” said Kelly L. Gibson, Associate Director of Enforcement, SEC Philadelphia Regional Office.
