New Jersey-based broker/dealer Summit Equities was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine for the firm’s failure to supervise agents who mishandled personal information of clients, according to a complaint by the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin.
Galvin’s securities division found that Summit Equities allowed its agents to enter clients’ personal information into a third-party CRM system, which went against the firm’s own privacy and security policies.
When reps left the firm, the b/d had no access or control over the personal information, while those reps had the access and could share it. The firm also had no measures in place to erase clients’ information from reps’ devices using the third-party CRM.
“The security of personal information is a very serious issue for me and my office,” Galvin said. “It is more important than ever that companies gathering personal information keep that information as secure as possible.”