The New York Attorney General recently announced that it had reached a settlement with Fidelity Investments regarding Fidelity’s involvement with auction rate securities (“ARS”).  The settlement, which calls for Fidelity to return $300 million to its customers by the end of the year, is the first settlement reached with a downstream retail broker.

The NYAG’s announcement specifically pointed out that Fidelity’s involvement in ARS is different “in important respects” from that of the underwriters and other banks with whom settlements have been reached recently.

For a full copy of the NYAG’s release, please click here.