Nutter Securities Enforcement Practice Achieves Trial Win against SEC for Financial Advisory Firm Cutter Financial Group

A Nutter trial team received a jury verdict in their favor for Nutter’s client, Cutter Financial Group LLC (CFG), in a civil litigation trial with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The jury found that CFG and its president and founder, Jeffrey Cutter, did not engage in any intentional fraudulent scheme and found that CFG adopted and implemented reasonable compliance policies and procedures. While CFG disclosed that it received commissions from insurance companies, the jury found CFG negligent in not also disclosing the specific upfront amount of those commissions for a limited number of clients. Nutter’s trial team included Ian Roffman, Melanie Woodward, Natalia Peña, and Mark Jensen.

“Today, the jury found what we have been saying for more than four years: that we did not intentionally or recklessly defraud any clients,” said Jeffrey Cutter, President and Founder of CFG. “The jury also found that we complied with applicable SEC rules about compliance policies and procedures. These are claims that should never have been brought in the first place. It is very difficult for a small business to stand up to federal government regulators and prevail. But that’s what we did today.”

The SEC’s case focused on disclosures related to commission compensation structures. There were no allegations that client funds were misappropriated. CFG acknowledges that industry-based financial advisory disclosures can be complex. To help clients better navigate these structures, the firm will be launching educational and compliance initiatives, including an educational campaign to explain compensation structures in accessible terms.

“We believe the entire industry can benefit from clearer standards and simpler language,” said Jen Farrington, Ph.D., Investment Advisor Representative and Chief Compliance Officer. “We’re committed to leading that conversation—not just for our clients, but for the profession as a whole.”

Nutter’s securities enforcement and litigation attorneys handle the full spectrum of government enforcement, regulatory and private securities issues, whether the client is a business or individual and across all industries.

About Nutter
Nutter is a Boston-based law firm that provides legal counsel to industry-leading companies, entrepreneurs, institutions, foundations, and families, across the country and around the world. The firm’s corporate, intellectual property, litigation, real estate and land use, labor and employment, tax, and trusts and estates practices are national in scope. The firm was co-founded in 1879 by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis, before his appointment to the Court. For more information, please visit www.nutter.com and follow the firm on LinkedIn.

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