May 2 (Reuters) - William Blair & Company has agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle charges of payment errors and disclosure failure, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Monday.
William Blair settled charges that it used its funds assets to pay brokers instead of using its own assets or having a written plan allowing it to pay the brokers with fund assets. (http://bit.ly/2oRbBqg)
The payment errors cost the funds approximately $1.25 million, which William Blair has since paid back to the funds plus interest, according to the SEC.
William Blair did not admit or deny the SEC's findings and was not immediately available for comment.
The SEC order also found that the Chicago-based company failed to disclose to its board that it was retaining a fee from investors. (http://bit.ly/2p2KRzj) (Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)