Commonwealth Settles With SEC After $93 Million Penalty Got Nixed

Commonwealth Financial Network will pay $5 million in a disclosure-enforcement settlement with the SEC, down from an original penalty of $93 million that was overturned by a First Circuit panel last year.

A federal judge signed off on the deal for Commonwealth to pay the lower amount, after the appeals panel vacated her initial summary judgment and disgorgement order in April 2025 and sent the case back to US District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The SEC alleged that Commonwealth’s disclosure of a revenue-sharing agreement was deficient for failing to mention that certain mutual fund share classes from which ...