SEC Fines Mutual Fund $40 Million For Using Customer Assets To Pay For Distribution

The Securities and Exchange Commission fined investment adviser First Eagle Investment Management and its affiliated distributor nearly $40 million for improperly using customer assets to pay for distribution. First Eagle masked nearly $25 million paid for distribution-related services as a sub-transfer agency payment, in violation of its fiduciary duty and contrary to its disclosures to clients. The settlement with the SEC relates to improper payments and disclosure failures that occurred from January 2008 to March 2014. This the first action brought by the SEC under a recent initiative to protect mutual fund shareholders. First Eagle Investment Management will return the money to the mutual fund account holders.