According to FINRA, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company, Inc. was censured and fined $750,000 in January 2026 for failing to reasonably supervise business-related text messages sent by its employees, failing to preserve those communications as required by applicable rules, and separately failing to comply with its discovery obligations during a FINRA arbitration proceeding.FINRA found that the St. Louis-based firm's supervisory system had no process or procedures—written or otherwise—for monitoring whether employees were complying with its own text messaging policies. Those policies generally prohibited business use of text messaging except through a firm-approved software application that would capture and preserve the messages. Despite this prohibition, registered representatives—including at least one senior executive—routinely used unapproved text messaging for business-related communications. The firm failed to identify or address this conduct, and when a FINRA arbitration panel issued discovery sanctions against the firm in October 2019, the firm still failed to take adequate corrective action.At least five registered representatives, including one senior executive, sent and received at least 3,560 business-related text messages through unapproved applications on their personal devices. These messages involved sensitive client communications, including receiving investment directives and personal information from customers and giving investment advice. Failing to capture and preserve these communications means that both customers and regulators may be unable to reconstruct what actually occurred in those advisory relationships if a dispute arises.The firm's discovery failures in a FINRA arbitration added to the violation. In September 2017, another broker-dealer filed an arbitration against the firm related to the recruiting of four of its registered representatives. The arbitration panel ordered the firm to produce responsive electronic communications by November 2018. The firm failed to timely and fully comply. Depositions in July 2019 revealed the existence of additional responsive text messages that had not been produced. The arbitration panel issued two separate sanction orders—in May and October 2019—as a result of the firm's discovery failures.For investors, this case underscores the importance of electronic communications recordkeeping. When brokers conduct business through personal devices and unapproved apps, investors lose an important layer of protection: the ability to access documentation of their conversations if a dispute arises. Investors should confirm that communications with their broker are conducted through firm-approved channels, which helps ensure that records are preserved and available if needed.