Citadel Securities Fined by Finra for Trading Ahead of Clients
- Market maker traded ahead of inactive client OTC orders
- Broker didn’t admit or deny Finra’s claims in settlement
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Citadel Securities, the brokerage majority owned by billionaire Ken Griffin, agreed to pay $700,000 to resolve an industry-backed regulator’s claims that the Chicago-based firm traded ahead of certain client equity orders.
The market maker traded over-the-counter stocks for its own account from 2012 to 2014 while simultaneously delaying client orders for the same shares, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said in an order dated July 16. The agreement, which wasn’t publicly announced, was signed on behalf of Citadel Securities by Stephen Luparello, the former high-ranking Finra and Securities and Exchange Commission official who is now general counsel for the firm.