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Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) - These are challenging times for insurers, policyholders, and reinsurers. In the coming days, we will review—in a series of articles—some of the key trends and developments...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
From investors and shareholders to customers and employees, key stakeholders are increasingly demanding both corporate action and broad-based public disclosure of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. As...more
There’s no question that FinTech firms are on the rise, and attempting to revolutionize the financial services space for the better. One such FinTech firm is none other than the notorious Robinhood. A technology company at...more
In a move that surprised nobody, PIABA recently released an updated study on expungement awards from 2019/2020, and, in the most predictable fashion, they continue to complain that the expungement process is rigged and that...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
Recently, the Roaring Kitty (aka Keith Gill) and his brethren made headlines with their trading (most notably in GameStop) and the impact it had on certain hedge funds and banks. The interest on this saga seems to be...more
Historically, one of the surest ways to get yourself permanently barred from the industry is to forge a customer’s signature on something. According to the pertinent Sanction Guideline, at a minimum, a forgery, that is, a...more
On December 1, 2020, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) Division of Enforcement released its Annual Report, which details a “record-breaking” fiscal year 2020 (“FY 2020”), despite the challenges presented...more
As should be clear to readers of this Blog, I find that Enforcement actions often provide the best guidance in terms of what regulators deem to be unacceptable conduct, which is very useful when dealing with subjective...more
The SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) applies to recommendations by a broker-dealer to “retail customers.” As the term suggests, a retail customer is a “natural person” (or the legal representative of a natural person)...more
The staff (“Staff”) of the Division of Trading and Markets of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a no-action letter (NAL) at the request of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on...more
Regulation Best Interest: Best Interest and Suitability-How They Differ (Part 1)- Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) imposes a “best interest” standard of care on broker-dealers for their recommendations of securities and...more