SEC fines 11 companies more than $88 million for record-keeping violations by Reuters

(Reuters) – Eleven broker-dealers and investment advisers have agreed to pay more than $88 million in fines to settle allegations that they failed to keep proper records of electronic communications, the latest by U.S. regulators in a series of such enforcement actions, the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Tuesday.

The firms include Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Invesco Distributors Inc and CIBC World Markets Corp, which together agreed to pay most of the fines, according to the SEC.

“Widespread and prolonged failures, including where those failures may impede the Commission’s investor protection function by compromising a firm’s response to SEC subpoenas, can result in severe civil penalties,” said the SEC’s director of enforcement, Gurbir Grewal, in a statement.