The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently took formal disciplinary action against a New York-based broker-dealer that is affiliated with a Mexican broker-dealer and a Mexican bank for inadequate anti-money...more
On January 31, 2014, the SEC issued a ground-breaking no-action letter, taking the position that a financial intermediary that limits its business activity to advising privately held companies in M&A transactions need not...more
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rules require member firms to establish and maintain a system of written procedures to supervise the activities of its members. On December 23, 2013, the SEC approved new FINRA...more
In its recently issued 2014 Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter, FINRA stated that cybersecurity remains a priority given the ongoing cybersecurity issues reported across the financial services industry, including...more
FINRA did not wait for any dust (or snow) to settle on the New Year before alerting the brokerage industry and the public about its regulatory and examination priorities for 2014. This year’s letter, issued earlier than ever...more
1/6/2014
/ Algorithmic Trading ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Crowdfunding ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
High Frequency Trading ,
Qualified Benefit Plans ,
Recidivism
It is the end of the year, and many people are thinking about the status of their retirement accounts and planning any changes to their investments. FINRA also has retirement accounts on the brain. It is thinking about the...more
The SEC is crunching a lot of data these days, and it apparently intends to use some of that data to identify “reverse churning.” Reverse churning is the practice of placing a client who trades infrequently in a fee-based,...more
FINRA recently announced a disciplinary proceeding that underscores its continuing concerns about unsuitable retail sales of structured products. In a recently settled formal disciplinary proceeding, FINRA censured a...more
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (the “EB-5 Program”) administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has been a significant source of capital for various real estate and other development projects...more
A much-anticipated FINRA report concludes that broker-dealers must do more to manage conflicts of interest.
FINRA said that the report, published on October 14, 2013, highlights “effective conflicts management...more
The SEC has provided some much-needed clarity on the issue of when broker-dealer compliance or legal personnel may be considered to be supervisors. On September 30, 2013, the Division of Trading and Markets (the “Division”)...more
The SEC recently finalized amendments to Rule 506 of Regulation D and Rule 144A under the Securities Act relaxing prohibitions against general solicitation in certain private offerings of securities implementing Section...more
PCAOB’S MISSION -
For two years, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has been reviewing the work of auditors of broker-dealers, with a view to assessing their work and enabling the PCAOB to develop a...more
The SEC’s “large trader” rules that apply to clearing firms and certain other firms will kick in this November. Thanks to a recent SEC release, some firms are getting a two-year compliance reprieve, but they must develop the...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a Final Rule last week amending certain annual reporting, audit, and notification requirements for broker-dealers in the broker-dealer reporting rule (Rule 17a-5) and the...more
FINRA has been engaged in a “stealth sweep” of firms’ untimely deliveries of mutual fund and ETF prospectuses that has resulted in formal disciplinary proceedings against twelve firms since 2011, and a total of over $5...more
FINRA, having enacted new communications rules that specifically reference electronic communications, having issued two Regulatory Notices (linked here and here) providing guidance to the securities industry on social media,...more
A recent FINRA disciplinary action sends a strong message to broker-dealers that the development of their compliance systems — particularly with respect to email review and retention — must keep pace with the growth of their...more
Habits can be tough to break. In 2011, FINRA attempted to break the broker-dealer industry’s habit of relying upon a 5% ceiling for equity markups by proposing a new FINRA Rule 2121 that would eliminate the so-called “5%...more
In its annual summary of regulatory and examination priorities, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) signaled that it will aggressively pursue market misconduct. The January 11, 2013 report follows closely on...more