The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled its first enforcement actions against robo-advisers, fining one of the country’s largest platforms $250,000.

Wealthfront, a robo-adviser with more than $11 billion under management, was censured by the commission for making “false statements about a tax-loss harvesting strategy it offered to clients”. 

“Wealthfront disclosed to clients employing its tax-loss harvesting strategy that it would monitor all client accounts for any transactions that might trigger a wash sale – which can diminish the benefits of the harvesting strategy – b...