Five U.S. brokerage firms will pay restitution of more than US$18 million for failing to waive mutual fund sales charges for eligible charities and retirement accounts, The Washington, D.C.-based Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced on Tuesday.

The bulk of the restitution, US$13.5 million worth, will be paid by Edward D. Jones & Co., L.P. Stifel Nicolaus & Company, Inc. will pay US$2.9 million, with Janney Montgomery Scott, LLC paying US$1.2 million. Smaller amounts were ordered against AXA Advisors, LLC (US$600,000) and Stephens Inc. (US$150,000).

The firms agreed to settle the allegations, neither admitting nor denying the charges, and consenting to the entry of FINRA’s findings, the regulator says.

FINRA found that although the mutual funds available on the firms’ retail platforms offered waivers to charitable and retirement plan accounts, at various times since at least July 2009, the firms did not waive the sales charges for affected customers when they offered class A shares, the regulator reports.

As a result, more than 25,000 eligible clients either paid sales charges when purchasing class A shares, FINRA says, or purchased other share classes that unnecessarily subjected them to higher ongoing fees and expenses.

FINRA also found that the brokerage firms failed to adequately supervise the sale of mutual funds that offered sales charge waivers.

“The firms unreasonably relied on financial advisors to waive charges for retirement and eligible charitable organization accounts, without providing them with critical information and training,” according to the FINRA announcement.

Earlier this year, FINRA ordered several other firms to pay restitution for similar failings. In total, the U.S. regulator estimates that US$55 million in restitution will be paid to more than 75,000 clients as a result.

“These actions are further evidence of our commitment to pursue substantial restitution for adversely affected mutual fund investors who were not afforded the full benefit of available sales charge waivers. Cooperation credit was granted to those firms that were proactive in identifying and remediating instances where their customers did not receive applicable discounts,” says Brad Bennett, FINRA’s executive vice president and chief of enforcement, in a statement.