In banks and investment firms, employees who are guiding customers have a variety of mutual funds products available for those customers. Many banks offer their own mutual funds as potential investments for those customers. In some cases, the performance of those mutual funds is only average; other mutual fund vehicles are available for customers that would bring them greater returns. However, employees at the banks and investment firms earn higher commissions on placing customers in their own company's funds as opposed to placing those funds in the mutual funds managed by other banks and firms. In some cases, the bank or investment firm collects double fees when a customer invests. That is, in addition to the cost of investing in the mutual fund, the bank or investment firm also collects a management fee from the customers. However, in some banks, their fees, even with double-charging, could be less than the fees charged by other mutual funds.

For example, in 2015, JPMorgan Chase entered into a settlement with the Securities Exchange Commission for its failure to tell its wealth management customers that it steered them into Chase's own mutual fund offerings or fund offerings that it co-managed with other banks as opposed to offering the clients independently managed funds that would have generated higher returns. \({ }^{105}\) The SEC said the settlement, in which Chase paid a total of \(\$ 127.5\) million in disgorged profits and \(\$ 40\) million in penalties, was evidence of the agencies' desire to pursue undisclosed conflicts of interest. Chase was also required to hire an independent consultant to review its client offerings and to include an annual statement of compliance and disclosure from that consultant. A spokesman for Chase indicated that the disclosure weaknesses were "not intentional..................

 Discussion Questions
1. Discuss the ethical issues involved in the sales of a salesperson's versus others available on the market.
2. Explain how the issue could be resolved with customers. Is the Chase monitor, mandated by the SEC, a solution?