Shareholder Spotlight : Advisors Asset Management – A Dive into the Filth of Financial Neglect

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Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat – Advisors Asset Management Inc. (AAM) isn’t some rogue outfit cooking books in a back alley. No, they’re the polished suits in Monument, Colorado, peddling themselves as guardians of your hard-earned cash, managing billions in structured products, unit investment trusts, and advisory services. But peel back that veneer, and what do you find? A festering pile of regulatory slaps, supervisory fuck-ups, and a cosy relationship with companies that treat ethics like a suggestion. These bastards have been fined repeatedly for screwing up the basics – reporting trades wrong, overcharging on bonds, letting registrations lapse while their reps keep slinging securities. It’s not grand theft, but it’s the kind of grinding incompetence that erodes trust and leaves investors wondering if anyone’s watching the till.

I’ve dug and I’ve dug, and it’s clear: AAM’s history is a litany of “oops” moments that FINRA – the industry’s self-policing watchdog – has had to clean up time and again. No outright Ponzi schemes or insider trading blowouts, but a pattern of laziness and corner-cutting that screams “we don’t give a shit as long as the fees roll in.” And now, toss in their stake in Cummins Inc., that engine giant caught red-handed cheating on emissions like a kid stuffing test answers down his pants. Yeah, AAM holds shares in Cummins – about 40,799 as of mid-2025, worth over £10 million. Is this just another thread in the Cummins web of “alternative ethical behaviour”? You bet your arse it is. Cummins shelled out a record £1.3 billion fine for installing defeat devices on hundreds of thousands of engines, polluting the air we all breathe while lying to regulators. If AAM’s picking bedfellows like that, what does it say about their moral compass? It’s bent, twisted, and pointing straight to profit over principle.

The Early Warning Signs: Sloppy Reporting and Unfair Pricing

Back in the early 2000s, AAM was already showing their true colours. In 2004, FINRA nailed them for failing to report accurate execution times on thousands of municipal trades and TRACE-eligible securities. We’re talking 2,075 botched municipal reports and 3,749 late ones – the kind of errors that muck up the market’s transparency and let shady deals slip through. They even gave incomplete answers during the investigation, like a kid mumbling excuses to the headmaster. Outcome? An £62,000 fine (that’s $80,000 back then) and a censure that basically said, “Do better, you twats.” But did they learn? Bollocks.

Fast forward to 2006, and it’s more of the same shite. AAM let employees hawk securities while their registrations were inactive – that’s like driving without a licence and hoping no one notices. They botched reporting customer complaints, updating employee disclosures, and even their anti-money laundering programme. In a world where dirty cash flows like sewage, that’s not just negligent; it’s bloody dangerous. FINRA hit them with a £18,500 fine and another censure. You’d think that would wake them up, but no – these pricks kept stumbling.

By 2008, things got outright predatory. AAM was buying and selling municipal securities at unfair prices in multiple transactions between 2003 and 2004. Unfair markups, unreasonable yields – the works. Their supervisory system? Non-existent for ensuring fair dealing. Investors got shafted, and FINRA ordered £11,600 in fines plus over £800 in restitution, with a mandate to fix their procedures. It’s outrageous – these are the gatekeepers, yet they’re picking pockets on the sly.

The Modern Mess: Persistent Failures in Oversight and Accuracy

The 2010s didn’t bring redemption; they brought repetition. In 2013, AAM’s systems were a joke – faulty coding led to over-reporting trades, wrong modifiers, and dodgy supervisory procedures. Internal records and customer confirmations were riddled with errors. No sales practice violations, they claimed, but who believes that when the basics are broken? FINRA dropped a £50,000 hammer and another censure. It’s infuriating – how many times do you need to be told to get your house in order before it sticks?

Then 2015: More municipal securities fuckery. Over 1,100 transactions reported with wrong times, prices, and commissions to the Real-Time Transaction Reporting System. Customer confirmations? Inaccurate. Brokerage memos? Bollocks. This isn’t rocket science; it’s basic compliance, yet AAM couldn’t manage it. A measly £7,800 fine and censure later, and they’re back to business as usual.

Don’t forget the customer side – in 2004-2005, an arbitration slammed AAM for misrepresentation, omitting facts, and failing to supervise. The claimant walked away with nearly £15,000, the full ask. It’s a drop in the bucket, but it highlights the human cost: Real people misled, their savings frittered on bad advice.

And the executives? Cliff Corso, the new CEO since May 2025, taking over from Scott Colyer who’s been at the helm since 1998. Colyer stepped down after 27 years, passing the baton to Corso amid talk of a “new chapter.” Timothy Stoklosa as COO, Jeff Opie on finances – all clean on paper, no personal scandals unearthed. But leading a firm with this rap sheet? That’s complicity, plain and simple. They’re the captains of a leaky ship, bailing water while pretending it’s smooth sailing.

The Cummins Connection: Investing in Pollution and Deceit

Now, about that Cummins tie-in. Yes, AAM invests in Cummins Inc. – holdings confirmed as of June 2025. Cummins, the diesel behemoth, just got hammered with the largest Clean Air Act penalty ever: £1.3 billion for fitting defeat devices on 960,000 engines between 2013 and 2023. These gadgets bypassed emissions controls, spewing nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere – think Dieselgate on steroids. The US Justice Department called it “egregious violations,” forcing Cummins to recall engines and cough up millions more in mitigation.

Why does this matter? Because AAM’s portfolio choices reflect their values – or lack thereof. Cummins embodies an “alternative” approach to ethics: Cheat the system, pollute the planet, pay the fine, move on. It’s the same mindset that lets AAM rack up fines for sloppy supervision and unfair practices. Is AAM part of this ecosystem? Absolutely. They’re not just bystanders; they’re stakeholders, profiting from a company that prioritises bottom lines over breathable air. In a world screaming for accountability, AAM’s wading deeper into the swamp.

Outraged? You should be. This isn’t isolated; it’s systemic. Firms like AAM skate by on technicalities, paying peanuts in penalties while investors bear the risk. Regulators fine them, but where’s the real pain? No jail time, no shutdowns – just slaps on the wrist that get forgotten in the next quarterly report.

The Bigger Picture: A System Built on Sand

AAM manages advisory services, UITs, structured products – fancy wrappers for your money. But with a history of supervisory lapses, inaccurate reporting, and dodgy pricing, how can you trust them? Their fines total over £150,000 across these incidents, plus restitutions and censures. It’s not Madoff-level, but it’s insidious – the slow bleed of confidence in a market that’s already rigged against the little guy.

And tying into Cummins? It’s poetic, really. A firm with “alternative ideas on ethical behaviour” investing in another that’s literally poisoning the well. Cummins’ execs walked away rich while communities choke on fumes. AAM’s leaders? Same story – cushy transitions, no personal accountability.

This expose isn’t about ruining reputations for fun; it’s about shining a light on the grit under the gloss. Investors deserve better than half-arsed oversight and hypocritical portfolios. Demand transparency, or get fleeced. Simple as that.

Lee Thompson – Founder, The Cummins Accountability Project

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