SEC Charges Virtu Financial Inc. and Virtu Americas LLC for Misleading Statements on Information Barriers

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today charged Virtu Americas LLC and its parent company, Virtu Financial Inc. for providing false and misleading information about the security of their customers’ data. The SEC alleges that Virtu failed to put in place sufficient measures to prevent the misuse of its customers’ sensitive information from January 2018 to April 2019. Furthermore, the company allegedly misrepresented to customers that only necessary staff could access the data when, in fact, proprietary traders had full access. As a result, Virtu earned substantial commissions from institutional investors, who were misled about the security of their particulars. To address these failures, the SEC seeks permanent injunctive relief, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and civil penalties.