WHERE?????

TO WHOM????

FOR WHAT ???? 

Reuters

Please post the link

All I could find was a blurb on the WSJ site.

http://online.wsj.com/public/ushttp://

I guess there will be a run on tomorrow's WSJ .... and who said there wasn't a Santa Claus???

Edward Jones to Pay $75 Million
To Settle Fund-Steering Charges

By DEBORAH SOLOMON
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
December 20, 2004 12:42 p.m.

Edward D. Jones & Co. has agreed to pay $75 million to settle charges with federal securities regulators that it steered investors to certain mutual funds without disclosing that the firm received compensation from those funds, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers and the New York Stock Exchange have tentatively agreed to the settlement, these people said. A final agreement could be approved by the SEC as early as this week.

State of California also is filing suit...which will be huge.

That's a big fine for a firm like Jones.  Lets see where the money comes from.   

Edward Jones to Pay $75 Million
To Settle Fund-Steering Charges

By DEBORAH SOLOMON
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
December 20, 2004 12:42 p.m.

Edward D. Jones & Co. has agreed to pay $75 million to settle charges with federal securities regulators that it steered investors to certain mutual funds without disclosing that the firm received compensation from those funds, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers and the New York Stock Exchange have tentatively agreed to the settlement, these people said. A final agreement could be approved by the SEC as early as this week.

Regulators are expected to accuse St. Louis-based Edward Jones of marketing seven funds to investors as the "best" without disclosing that the funds had paid to be included on that list of fund families. An Edward Jones spokesman didn't immediately return calls seeking comment.

The case is part of the SEC's broad probe into conflicts of interest at mutual funds and brokerage firms. Regulators have been looking into how brokers are compensated for selling funds, including whether customers are aware of any financial relationships between the broker and the mutual funds they sell.

This will be the second case the SEC has brought against a brokerage firm related to so-called "revenue sharing." Last year, the SEC brought civil charges against Morgan Stanley and fined it $50 million for conflicts of interests, including directing investors to certain funds based on commissions the firm received. While revenue sharing isn't illegal, brokers are required to steer investors to products that are best for them and can't take compensation into consideration when deciding where a client should put his or her money. Any financial relationships must also be disclosed.

The SEC has settled similar charges with some fund companies and is expected to bring additional cases next year against both fund firms and brokerage houses.

Write to Deborah Solomon at [email protected]

I cant wait to see where that money is going to come from!  I agree that is a heck of a lot of money for a firm like EDJ.  Merry Christmas Edward Jones.  I hope 2005 is even worse for you!  Bring on California! 

I think the question might end of being, who will be buying Jones. I find it hard to believe that they don’t need help from a white knight with this sort of thing.

Can somebody tell us what the company line is today around Jones?  Hawkeye, what says Doug Hill today? 

Perhaps it's "Don't worry.  We chose to pay this money out of the goodness of our hearts, not because of any 'legal' requirement.  The greatest sales force in the world will pay it off with ease"

A friend of mine there tells me they are given very little information on what is going on.  They are basically in the dark other than the GPs.      

Couldn’t happen to a nicer group of con-artists. 

This truly is an all Jones board.  Amazing that such an insignificant topic gets so many hits and replies. 

All you ex-Jones reps must find something else to talk about.  It is like getting a divorce and spending the rest of your life talking about your ex-...

Get over it and move on.

Dewey-

Thanks for the hit and reply.

Jones agreed to the fines and chose not to even argue them?  Maybe they feel they got off too easy?

I'm sure as hell glad I am no longer a holder of that ridiculous LP. 

Just read the un-printable Doug Hill letter at a Jones office.  Not over the top but he does say that GP and LP payouts will be down until reserves are built back up. 

But why is this such a low number?  I remember doing the numbers in my head this year when the others settled and figured Jones was looking at $200-250 million.  This is a slap on the wrist.

While I thought the whole thing was cr^p from the beginning, Jones skated on this compared to the other settlements.

Dear Sirs/Ma'ams

I hereby retract the item I posted previously about having regrets for leaving Jones.

Sincerely,

Bearcat

Just finished reading the California lawsuit against Jones.  The AG must have some kind of pissing contest with the NYAG.  He makes a lot of misleading statements.  He throws around the $300 million figure when the numbers for Calinfornia are less than $10 million.

Other than headlines, I am not sure what he is trying to get with this one.