By Arthur Delibert, Lori Schneider, Alyssa King and Eden Rohrer (June 13, 2017, 1:55 PM EDT) -- On May 1, 2017, fund adviser and distributor William Blair & Co. LLC settled an enforcement action brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for the company causing its funds to pay, outside of a Rule 12b-1 plan, for activities primarily intended to result in the sale of fund shares and to pay subtransfer agency fees in excess of limits established by the fund board.[1] The settlement order illustrates how the SEC will apply certain principles set forth in a guidance update from the SEC Division of Investment Management issued in January 2016, which outlined the SEC staff's views on issues that may arise from payments to financial intermediaries that provide both distribution and nondistribution services to a fund.[2]...