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Wednesday, November 24, 2004 A Gifted Fido? Correction: it's not just Super Bowl tickets and golf outings that regulators are looking into. You can add pricey wine and expensive trips to the list. As reported Tuesday, both the SEC and the NASD are looking into lavish gifting from broker dealers to mutual fund executives. In the hotseat, according to the Wall Street Journal, is none other than Fidelity Investments. Fidelity and its relationship to brokerage firm Jeffries is under scrutiny, an unnamed person familiar with the matter told the WSJ. Jeffries broker Kevin Quinn was fired on October 11 from the brokerage because of "improper travel and entertainment costs," reported Bloomberg. According to Bloomberg and SEC data from the last 12 months, Fidelity was brokerage's largest client. Under NASD rules, brokers are not allowed give more than $100 in gifts per year. As yet, the regulatory investigation, which involves two dozen brokerages, is still an informal probe and reported Bloomberg News. Regulators said they are concerned that fund executives may have directed trades to brokerages depending on whether they were treated generously by the brokerages. Printed from: MFWire.com/story.asp?s=8510 Copyright 2004, InvestmentWires, Inc. All Rights Reserved |