Morgan Stanley says SEC seeking details on advisory account cash balances

(Reuters) -Morgan Stanley said on Monday it had received requests from the enforcement division of the U.S. securities regulator regarding advisory account cash balances swept to affiliate bank deposit programs.

The company said it was in talks with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission since April over the matter and compliance with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

The law, which regulates investment advisers, requires firms compensated for advising others about securities investments to conform to regulations designed to protect investors.

Advisory accounts offer investment advisory services to clients for a fee, wherein they can choose from a variety of investment strategies managed by the adviser.

Such accounts may include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money market funds, exchange-traded funds and cash.

A cash sweep in investment advisory accounts allow clients to earn a return on uninvested cash balances.

Morgan Stanley also disclosed that it had reached a conditional settlement agreement last month to resolve a 2017 lawsuit related to the initial public offering of Danish marine fuel oil supplier OW Bunker.

The company was among the defendants named in the lawsuit, which alleged the underwriters had misled institutional investors about the 2014 listing of OW Bunker.

OW Bunker had filed for bankruptcy within a few months of going public, after it suffered hedging losses of almost $300 million.

The agreement is subject to approval of the settlement by a Danish court, Morgan Stanley disclosed.

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)