PNC Investments LLC has agreed to pay a fine of $200,000 as a part of a settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

From at least June 2021 to the present, PNCI failed to establish and maintain a reasonably designed supervisory system, including written supervisory procedures (WSPs), for the surveillance of rates of deferred variable annuity (VA) exchanges.

The firm’s supervisory system did not require the firm to determine if its associated persons had rates of effecting VA exchanges that raised for review whether such rates evidenced conduct inconsistent with FINRA rules or the federal securities laws as required by FINRA Rule 2330(d), and did not provide guidance as to how to make that determination. Nor did the firm’s systems require tracking or further review of representatives with potentially inappropriate rates of exchanges.

Accordingly, PNCI violated FINRA Rules 3110, 2330, and 2010.

For these violations, PNCI was censured, fined $200,000, and agrees to an undertaking.

PNCI is a broker-dealer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has been a member of FINRA since December 2003. The firm conducts a general securities business and offers investment products and services, including variable annuities, to retail customers. The firm has approximately 1,500 branch offices and approximately 1,200 registered representatives.