Kepler Capital Markets Agrees to $475,000 Fine in FINRA Settlement

On June 19 2024, Kepler Capital Markets Inc has reached a settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) involving a $475,000 fine. The penalty stems from violations of FINRA Rules 5210 and 2010.

Between December 2016 and October 2022, Kepler overstated its advertised trade volume on Bloomberg, a private subscription-based market data provider, in approximately 377,000 instances. The overstatement involved approximately 2.1 billion shares.

Furthermore, from December 2016 to February 2023, Kepler failed to establish and maintain a supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures (WSPs), to ensure compliance with FINRA Rule 5210.

As part of the settlement, Kepler has also agreed to a censure.

In March, FINRA fined M1 Finance LLC​ $850,000 for social media posts made by influencers on the firm's behalf that were not fair or balanced, or contained exaggerated, unwarranted, promissory or misleading claims.