Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) and Gamification: Your Questions Answered
Summer Enforcement Action Review; Raising Money in a Pandemic - Investment Management Roundtable Discussion
Investment Management and Private Funds Roundtable – June 2020
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – FinTech initiatives
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Fiduciary investment advice: The patchwork emerges
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – SEC enforcement
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Complying with new SEC rules for broker-dealers
Investment Management Roundtable Discussion – Regulatory and Enforcement Update
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Establishing An Investment Platform Post-Regulation BI
Investment Management Update - Focus on Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
On August 5, FINRA accepted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) against a member firm for three alleged violations related to the failure to maintain policies and procedures and supervisory systems in compliance...more
On July 19, FINRA accepted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) from a member firm to resolve alleged Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) violations. According to the AWC, from June 2020 to March 2023, the member...more
This amendment builds on FINRA’s recent willingness to relax the prohibition on the use of projections and targeted returns in the marketing materials broker-dealers deliver to institutional investors and qualified...more
KEY TAKEAWAYS - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the first spot Bitcoin ETFs, also known as an exchange-traded product (ETP.) With the SEC now permitting spot Bitcoin ETFs, brokers must become...more
On January 9, 2024, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority published its 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report. Previously titled Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program, the Report is released...more
A September report of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) on broker-dealer compliance with the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) finds...more
Welcome to the latest issue of Bracewell’s FINRA Facts and Trends, a monthly newsletter devoted to condensing and digesting recent FINRA developments in the areas of enforcement, regulation and dispute resolution. This month,...more
FINRA intends to conduct 1,000 Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) examinations — covering almost one-third of FINRA member firms — by year-end....more
Hermione Granger (yes, from Harry Potter) is famously attributed with the following quote: “I’m going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed. Or worse, expelled.” Unfortunately,...more
On September 28, 2022, FINRA settled its first formal action alleging violations of Regulation Best Interest, Rule 15l-1(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Reg BI)....more
The 2023 priorities letter represents only a sliver of the topics firms can expect exam teams to cover this year. In developing the priorities, SEC staff noted their outreach directly to state securities regulators and...more
The risk alert highlights deficiencies the staff identified during examinations and provides examples of weak practices observed at firms. EXAMS staff intends for the alert to assist broker-dealers in reviewing and enhancing...more
Yes, (somehow) it is that time of year again. FINRA recently released its 2023 Report on its Examination and Risk Monitoring Program (the “Report”). As is typical (and this blog has well-covered), it contains a mix of old and...more
On January 10, 2023, FINRA issued its 2023 Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program to provide “insight into findings from the recent oversight activities of FINRA’s Member Supervision, Market Regulation and...more
Every year the Financial Institution Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issues its “Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program.” The Report covers issues noted during the prior year’s exams and topics that examiners...more
On January 10, 2023, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) released its 2023 Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program (the “Report), available at: 2023 Report on FINRA’s Examination and...more
Allegations of unauthorized trading claims present significant risks for investment brokers and brokerage firms. In addition to investor arbitration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), brokers and...more
Welcome to the latest issue of Bracewell’s FINRA Facts and Trends, a monthly newsletter devoted to condensing and digesting recent FINRA developments in the areas of enforcement, regulation and dispute resolution. This...more
FINRA recently hosted a conference call with its smaller members covering Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS compliance. FINRA’s resounding message was that there is “no one-size-fits all” approach to Reg. BI...more
We have made it a point previously in this blog to track developments of the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), even speculating more aggressive enforcement actions could be coming due to certain Reg BI deficiency...more
Two Years Later, Regulation BI Remains a “Tremendous Priority” for FINRA - June 30th marked two years since the implementation of Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”) and the client relationship summary or Form CRS. Firm...more
Understand What’s Happening in the Financial Industry Regulatory World With Commentary and Updates From Bracewell’s Experienced FINRA Team - We are pleased to introduce the inaugural issue of Bracewell’s FINRA Facts and...more
Noting Deficiencies, FINRA Suggests Best Practices for Reg BI Compliance - During its first-ever review of compliance with Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) found...more
I attended the four-day SIFMA Compliance and Legal seminar last week, and there were a bunch of interesting soundbites from regulators that folks might find interesting. The challenge at these conferences is always...more
In February 2022, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) released the 2022 Report on FINRA’s Examinations and Risk Monitoring Program. This annual document aims to provide guidance to the broker-dealer industry....more