Guggenheim to Settle SEC Allegations of Impeding Whistle-Blowers

The brokerage arm of Guggenheim Partners will pay about $209,000 to settle Securities and Exchange Commission allegations that the firm’s policies discouraged employees from reporting potential wrongdoing, the regulator said.

Until last July, Guggenheim Securities prohibited employees from reaching out to officials at the SEC or other watchdogs without prior consent from the firm’s lawyers, the regulator said in a filing Wednesday. Such restrictions, which the SEC says were included in the firm’s compliance manual for at least four years, run afoul of whistle-blower protections put in place by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

The case comes as the SEC continues ...