Hot Topics in International Trade with Braumiller Law Group: Customs Broker Modernization Regulations 19 CFR 111
Investment Management Roundtable Discussion – Data Privacy and Security
SEC Activity with Fixed Income and Credit Funds
Bill on Bankruptcy: Easterbrook Turns the Tide on Student Loans
Confirmations: Plugging Into Electronic Confirmations
Bill on Bankruptcy: Rakoff Reverses Himself in Madoff Case
According to recent reports, two U.S. multinational financial technology companies have integrated Ethereum Name Service (ENS), a decentralized naming system built on the Ethereum blockchain, into their payment platforms....more
The IRS released a draft of a new tax form, Form 1099-DA, that brokers will use to report proceeds from certain digital asset transactions. The draft Form 1099-DA can be found on the IRS website and below. The effective date...more
The issue of when a person may be considered a “broker” or “dealer” and subject to registration as such under the federal securities laws, as distinguished from so-called finders (and therefore not subject to the panoply of...more
BrokerCheck is the database through which FINRA publishes licensing, registration, and disciplinary history of brokerage industry firms and their personnel. BrokerCheck does not currently specify whether a particular firm is...more
Key Takeaways: ..After years of warning firms of the need for enhanced diligence in retaining or hiring brokers with a significant history of misconduct, FINRA has adopted new rules to address such brokers. ..As set...more
BROKER-DEALER - FINRA Seeks Comment Regarding Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives - The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is seeking comment on rules, operations and administrative processes that may...more
I get the fact that anyone silly enough to work for a broker-dealer knowingly chooses to live in a fishbowl. Thanks to BrokerCheck, you can very easily learn more about a registered representative than you can about, say, a...more
Earlier this month, the SEC approved the first of several rule changes that FINRA has proposed for the process governing the expungement of customer complaints from a broker’s record. The approved rule change will make it...more
In the past week, I ran across two discrete instances in which FINRA acts as a secret gatekeeper of sorts, exercising its own subjective judgment, without anyone knowing what, exactly, it is doing or why, employing...more
This is the last in our series on the FINRA expungement process, and, unfortunately, the future looks grim. Not only has FINRA made it nearly impossible (in an obvious attempt to curry favor with the public investor bar),...more
This is our second blog on the vanishing FINRA expungement process. FINRA identifies specific grounds for expungement in FINRA Rule 2080. Rule 2080(b)(1) provided three specific grounds for expungement relief: (1) the...more
One certainty in the brokerage world is that registered representatives often switch from one member firm to another. There is nothing wrong with the switch, but there is a word of caution to be shared....more
In response to a request for interpretative guidance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff (staff) advised on January 11, 2017 that Section 22(d) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 does not prevent a broker...more
REGULATION - DOL Issues Additional Guidance on Fiduciary Rule - On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a second set of guidance on its new fiduciary rules, which are scheduled to become...more
A recent enforcement action by FINRA underscores the regulator’s continuing concern regarding how financial advisers are paid to sell investment products. In a case announced on November 28, 2016, a member firm settled...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently approved a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) proposal to adopt a new regime for the regulation of electing broker-dealer firms that meet the...more
In October 2016, FINRA filed with the SEC proposed rules designed to help brokers protect seniors and other vulnerable adults from financial exploitation. The proposal would amend existing customer account information rules...more
A broker sought to vacate his FINRA compensatory damages award against a broker/dealer because the award did not include his attorney’s fees. The broker believed he was entitled to those fees as the “prevailing party” within...more
SEC-Sanctioned Trader Began Alleged Spoofing After Complaining About Spoofing by Others to NYSE - Eric Oscher and Briargate Trading, LLC, a company 50 percent owned by Mr. Oscher, agreed to pay an aggregate fine of US...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved two Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules that apply to equity and debt research. FINRA Rule 2241 adopts, with modifications, NASD Rule 2711 as a FINRA rule and...more
The New York City Council recently passed two amendments to the New York City Human Rights Law that are likely to substantially affect the manner in which firms in New York City may evaluate the qualifications and background...more
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) issued a recent “Risk Alert” noting observed deficiencies in broker-dealer supervision and compliance controls over retail sales of structured products –...more
On Feb. 3, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) each released reports regarding cybersecurity issues for brokerage and advisory firms, both of which should be...more
On May 27, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority filed a revised rule proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission to amend FINRA Rule 2210. Specifically, the revised proposal would require each member firm’s...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) is the largest independent, not-for-profit regulator of securities firms conducting business in the United States. FINRA is authorized by the United States Congress to...more