WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 26, 2017) — The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) announced the addition of several broker-dealer firms to the growing list of those using a fee schedule based on a model developed by NASAA’s Model Fee Disclosure Working Group to enhance disclosure to investors.

NASAA President and Alabama Securities Commission Director Joseph P. Borg commended the following 15 firms for agreeing to enhance the transparency of their fee disclosure to investors by using the NASAA Model Fee Disclosure Schedule: Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.; Voya Financial Advisors, Inc.; Cetera Financial Group (Cetera Advisors, Denver; Cetera Advisor Networks, El Segundo, California; Cetera Financial Institutions, St. Cloud, Minnesota; Cetera Financial Specialists, Schaumburg, Illinois; First Allied Securities, Inc., San Diego; Girard Securities, Inc., San Diego; and Summit Brokerage Services, Inc., Boca Raton, Florida); and Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. (Ladenburg Thalmann & Co., Inc., New York, New York; Investacorp, Inc., Miami Lakes, Florida; KMS Financial Services, Inc., Seattle; Securities America, Inc., La Vista, Nebraska; Securities Service Network, Inc., Knoxville, Tennessee; and Triad Advisors, Inc., Norcross, Georgia).

“We are pleased to see the growing acceptance and use of the NASAA Model Fee Disclosure Schedule and I look forward to working with SIFMA, the FSI, and members of the securities industry to gain even wider use of the model next year. All firms that have taken this important step to help bring uniformity to the disclosure of broker-dealer service and maintenance-related fees are commended and others are encouraged to match this level of disclosure for their clients,” Borg said. “Through this collaborative initiative, industry and state securities regulators are increasing the transparency of fee disclosure for investors.”

The addition of these firms brings to 28 the number of firms using fee schedules based on the NASAA Model Fee Disclosure Schedule. The other firms are: 1st Global; Cambridge Investment Research Inc.; Commonwealth Financial Network; Fidelity Investments; FSC Securities Corp.; LPL Financial LLC, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Prospera Financial Services, Prudential Financial, Inc.; Royal Alliance Associates Inc.; SagePoint Financial Inc.; Signator Investors, Inc.; and Woodbury Financial Services Inc.

The NASAA Model Fee Disclosure Schedule helps investors better understand and compare various broker-dealer miscellaneous account and service fees and to provide guidelines to make fee disclosure accessible and transparent. The working group’s goal is to develop meaningful account and service fee disclosure and transparency. They must be simple to read, easily accessible and helpful for retail investors to understand and compare fees.

The Working Group consisted of state securities regulators, representatives of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), the Financial Services Institute (FSI), LPL Financial LLC, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Prospera Financial Services, and Signator Investors, Inc.

The group was formed in 2014 following the release of a study by NASAA’s Broker-Dealer Section uncovering a wide disparity in how broker-dealers disclose the fees they charge customers. In 2015, NASAA released the results of a national opinion research poll that found investor confusion about the fees charged by brokerage firms to service and maintain their accounts. Additional information is available on NASAA’s Model Fee Disclosure Resource Center.

For More Information:
Bob Webster | Director of Communications
202-737-0900





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