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
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – DOL: What’s ahead
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series – Account Recommendations Under Regulation BI
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Special Challenges For Dual Registrants
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Account Monitoring Post-Regulation BI
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Regulation BI Recordkeeping Requirements
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Establishing An Investment Platform Post-Regulation BI
The stay of the effective dates of the amended fiduciary regulation and amended exemptions means that the “old” DOL fiduciary regulation (the 5-part test) and the existing exemptions continue in effect indefinitely....more
The stay of the effective dates of the amended fiduciary regulation and amended exemptions means that the “old” DOL fiduciary regulation (the 5-part test) and the existing exemptions continue in effect indefinitely. As a...more
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 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
Under Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), the SEC imposes a best interest standard on account recommendations by broker-dealers. This is because recommending an account type is viewed by the SEC as recommending an investment...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
Since Regulation Best Interest’s (Reg BI) June 30, 2020 compliance date, the Division of Examinations of the Securities and Exchange Commissions (the Division) has been busy implementing examinations of broker-dealers to...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
On Jan. 30, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations (Division) released a Risk Alert, “Observations from Broker-Dealer Examinations Related to Regulation Best Interest,” in which the Division...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
529 Plans are state-sponsored investment programs that facilitate savings for qualified education expenses, including tuition, fees, room and board, and other education-related expenses. Unlike retirement accounts that...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
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
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
On June 15, 2022, the SEC filed its first complaint alleging violations of the “care obligation” and the “compliance obligation” of Regulation Best Interest, Rule 15l-1(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (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
In June, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed its first complaint alleging violations of the care obligation and the compliance obligation of Regulation Best Interest, or Reg BI....more
On June 15, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filed a complaint against California-based broker-dealer Western International Securities, Inc. (“Western”) alleging violations of Regulation Best Interest...more
This series focuses on the DOL’s new fiduciary “rule”, which was effective on February 16. This, and the next several, articles look at the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) issued by the DOL to explain the fiduciary...more
SEC Chair Gary Gensler has not publicly stated much regarding Reg BI since Spring of this year. Generally, though, the messaging from SEC leadership regarding the Division of Examinations and the Division of Enforcement...more
My job frequently requires that I explain to someone – whether my client, an ALJ, an arbitration panel, even a regulator – the fundamental difference between a broker-dealer and an investment advisor. An IA operates pursuant...more