SEC Charges Equitable Financial with Providing Misleading Account Statements to Investors 

According to a press announcement on June 18, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company with fraud for providing account statements to about 1.4 million variable annuity investors that included materially misleading statements and omissions concerning investor fees.  

Equitable Financial reportedly agreed to pay $50 million to harmed investors, most of whom are public school teachers and staff members, to settle the charges. 

According to the SEC’s order, since at least 2016, Equitable gave investors the false impression that their quarterly account statements listed all fees paid during the period. In reality, the statements listed only certain types of fees that investors infrequently incurred and that more often than not the statements had $0.00 listed for fees, according to the findings. 

Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Equitable Financial agreed to cease and desist from committing or causing any future violations of these provisions and to pay a $50 million civil penalty that it will distribute to affected investors. The company also agreed to revise how it presents fee information in its variable annuity account statements.  

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