SEC fines Cantor Fitzgerald over repeated failure to identify large traders

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday fined Cantor Fitzgerald $1.4 million for repeatedly failing to identify and report customers who qualified as large traders.

Cantor, a New York-based investment bank and brokerage, did not admit or deny wrongdoing in agreeing to the civil fine.

Large traders trade at least 2 million shares or $20 million a day, or at least 20 million shares or $200 million a month. They are typically professional investors, or institutional investors such as banks, hedge funds, insurers and mutual funds.

According to the regulator, Cantor failed to track and report more than 100 large traders over the last six years.

It also said Cantor repeatedly failed for more than a decade to file forms identifying itself or affiliates as large traders.

The SEC said Cantor has improved its practices to ensure its compliance, and updated its reporting procedures in December 2022 and May 2023.

Cantor did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The SEC began requiring greater disclosures about large traders in 2011, to more quickly identify their impact on major market developments and as necessary bring enforcement actions.

Requiring greater disclosure was in part a response to the May 2010 “flash crash,” when the fell close to 1,000 points in about 10 minutes.