Some broker-dealers are making windfalls by overcharging customers for clerical and administrative functions, and their regulator, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), should crack down harder on the practices, state securities regulators said on Thursday. The findings and the recommendation to FINRA are the result of a study by the Investment Products and Services Project Group of the Broker-Dealer Section of the North American Securities Administrators Association, which is comprised of state regulators. The study was spurred by sanctions against several firms by Connecticut regulators and FINRA over excessive and hidden or poorly disclosed "miscellaneous" and other charges for expenses such as postage and handling. Prior to these matters, NASD, FINRA's predecessor, had imposed similar sanctions. Each of the group's eight members asked five to nine firms in their region – large and small, and full service and retail – how they disclose fees, including additional
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