Nineteen trading firms and one trader will pay $9 million to collectively settle civil charges alleging they participated in a stock offering after shorting the stock during a restricted period, U.S. regulators said Tuesday. The Securities and Exchange Commission said the settlements mark the latest actions in an effort to crack down on hedge funds and private equity funds that violate a securities rule designed to prevent potential manipulation. Among the charged firms settling the case are BlackRock’s BlackRock Institutional Trust Company and New York-based Advent Capital Management. A spokesman for BlackRock said Tuesday that the SEC's case stems from three "inadvertent" violations dating to 2010 and 2011. "There was no allegation that BlackRock intentionally violated the rule," the spokesman said. "Client accounts will not be affected and the company has further enhanced its compliance policies and procedures since 2011." Advent Capital did not have an immediate comment
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