US fund managers Franklin Advisers, PEA Capital and PAD are expected to settle allegations of improper trading with the Securities and Exchange Commission within weeks following the move by Amvescap to pay $450m (€372m) for civil lawsuits.

The SEC and state regulators are examining whether brokerage firms received extra fees from mutual fund companies for marketing their funds. PEA Capital and PAD, units of Germany's Allianz, and Franklin Advisers, a unit of Franklin Resources, are tipped to settle voluntarily in the coming weeks.