Last week, I published a post about the benefits of “lawyering up” when dealing with FINRA, particularly to handle the defense of an OTR. Here, my partner Michael Gross, who, like me, is a former FINRA Enforcement attorney, offers his advice about how properly to prepare for an OTR. While this post is helpful, it
UB Greensfelder
It Can Pay To “Lawyer Up” When Dealing With FINRA
By UB Greensfelder on
Posted in Defenses, Disciplinary Process, Enforcement, Examination, FINRA, OTR, Registered Representative, Sanctions
I realize that the title of this blog post may sound self-serving, so I apologize for that up front, as it is not my intent. Still, there is a lesson here to be learned.
I got a phone call yesterday from a reporter asking me to comment on a disciplinary action that FINRA had just…
Tell Me Something I Don’t Know: OCIE’s Tips To Surviving An SEC IA Exam
By UB Greensfelder on
Let’s chalk this one up to “great minds think alike,” or maybe just “minds think alike.” You may recall that in his recent letter to member firms that accompanied FINRA’s 2017 Exam Priorities Letter, FINRA CEO Robert Cook said, “starting this year, we will publish a summary report that outlines key findings from examinations in…
Is There A Catch-22 To Fighting FINRA Charges?
By UB Greensfelder on
Here is a fascinating analysis by my partner, Michael Gross, of FINRA’s twisted logic when it comes to sanctions: your very decision not to admit liability and to put FINRA to its proof can, and will, be held against you when it comes time to determine the appropriate sanctions. Or will it? – Alan
The…
FINRA Is Going Rogue…Again
By UB Greensfelder on
I read an article this week bemoaning the fact that “rogue brokers” – a term that is commonly used but steadfastly undefined – apparently remain rampant in the securities industry. Anyone that has read FINRA’s 2017 Exam Priorities Letter knows that this is one of the issues on which FINRA intends to focus its regulatory…
Supervision Requires More Than Trust; It Means Trust With Verification
By UB Greensfelder on
Back in December, the State of Massachusetts filed a Complaint against LPL and one of its big producers alleging that the producer, Roger Zullo, defrauded his clients and lied to his supervisors in connection with the sale of variable annuities. What struck me when I read the Complaint, and what has still stuck with me,…
Is FINRA Guilty Of Gaslighting Us When Its CEO Says Things Will Be Different?
By UB Greensfelder on
Posted in FINRA
Since the presidential election, heck, since the campaign, my friends and family will readily attest that my new favorite word is “gaslighting.” According to Wikipedia, it is “is a form of manipulation that seeks to sow seeds of doubt in a targeted individual or group, hoping to make the target question their own memory, perception,…
FINRA Releases Its 2017 Exam Priorities: No More “Culture Of Compliance” References, Plus The List Of Usual Suspects
By UB Greensfelder on
In the blog I posted yesterday, I discussed a late Xmas present that the 10th Circuit gave everyone who is subject to the SEC’s jurisdiction. Today, let’s talk about FINRA’s New Year’s gift to its member firms: the annual Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter, which was released this week. As is typically the…
2017 Off To A Bad Start For The SEC As The 10th Circuit Finds SEC ALJs To Be Unconstitutional
By UB Greensfelder on
Many industry authors – including me[1] – have devoted a lot of attention lately to the SEC’s increased use of Administrative Proceedings (rather than Federal court cases) in recent years, and questioned the fairness of such proceedings, given their relative lack of discovery tools, the short timeframe provided within which to prepare a case…
Swing And A Miss: A Rare Form U-4 Loss For FINRA
By UB Greensfelder on
I have blogged multiple times, as recently as a couple of weeks ago, about the slew of Enforcement actions that FINRA has brought for an RR’s failure to update his or her Form U-4 in a timely manner to disclose a tax lien. My partner, Michael Gross, examines one such case that FINRA managed to…