Last week I posted a blog about the dangers of not heeding findings made during a regulatory exam, at least findings of clear, undisputable compliance issues that cannot be meaningfully defended. Today I am writing to...more
Among the criticisms I have leveled against FINRA are (1) that it is increasingly acting like a claimant’s arbitration attorney, by taking every possible opportunity to blame member firms for losses incurred by investors when...more
There are certain topics that broker-dealers have been encountering for decades, yet continue unnecessarily to wrestle with due to the absence of clear guidance from the regulators. I have written about one such topic...more
I continue to wade my way through a few months’ worth of cases, press releases, etc., looking for things that manage to catch my attention. I found this SEC settlement from the end of July involving Integral Financial, a BD...more
FINRA Enforcement has often been accused (again, admittedly, by me, and not too infrequently) of going after the “low-hanging fruit,” that is, taking the easy case when it presents itself. Putting aside the question whether...more
As everyone knows, back in the 1980s, broker-dealers fought hard for the ability to include in a customer agreement a clause mandating that all disputes be dealt with in the arbitration forum, rather than in court. It was...more
I just read this article... – admittedly authored by lawyers, Ethan Brecher and Ana Montoya, whose website provides that one of their three principal areas of practice is representing investors “who have been defrauded by...more
“The SEC score(s) one for the digital age.” These are the words of SEC Commissioner Heist, though, not my own. After a nearly year-long comment period, the SEC announced last week that it was replacing its former advertising...more
12/31/2020
/ Advertising ,
Compliance ,
Endorsements ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Marketing ,
New Rules ,
Ratings ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supervision ,
Third-Party
My young boys will sometimes chase me around the house, catch me, and yell “gotcha” as they drag me off to their pretend jail. No matter how much I plead that I’ve done nothing wrong, I always end up in jail, despite having...more
12/19/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Lack of Interpretive Guidance ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions
Michael Gross and Alan Wolper will discuss outside business activities, the 2019 report of exam findings and observations, and internal changes at FINRA.
...more
I was catching up on my reading and came across a column in Investment News by Mark Schoeff that described the results of a recent FINRA arbitration, results which I found a bit alarming. I caution you: reading too much into...more
9/25/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Firms ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Liability ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities Transactions ,
Unregistered Brokers
I read an article this week in Investment News with the following headline: “Brokerage Customers Winning More FINRA Arbitration Cases.” As a guy who defends customer cases, I was naturally intriguied by this. According to the...more
If you read this blog even semi-regularly, you know that I have taken a few shots at PIABA. I think they’re well earned, but some people – particularly PIABA lawyers, not surprisingly – have suggested that I’m overdoing it....more
I apologize for all the posts this week, but I am traveling and am in a different time zone, so I am awake at hours when, ordinarily, I would be asleep, giving me time to muse. Anyway, given that, I will not test your...more
I told you two weeks ago in my blog post that this would happen. I told you that when Robert Cook announced the topics to be taken up at the February/March FINRA Board meeting in Boca Raton, he slipped and used the new phrase...more
On February 26, 2019, FINRA sent a seemingly innocuous memo to member firms giving a brief outline of the subjects that its Board will take up at its meeting this week in sunny Boca Raton, Florida. (Wait, the Board isn’t...more
What exists at the point where PIABA’s transparent self-interest in getting paid and FINRA’s historical lack of transparency about who is actually driving its agenda regarding arbitrations? This: a late December decision by...more