There are certain topics that broker-dealers have been encountering for decades, yet continue unnecessarily to wrestle with due to the absence of clear guidance from the regulators. I have written about one such topic before, and that’s the fuzzy line between most outside business activities, which RRs are obliged (at a minimum) by rule to
Fiduciary duty
SEC Settlement Proves That It’s Easy Enough For An IA To Get In Trouble Just For Doing Nothing
By Alan Wolper on
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 to a fiduciary duty; a BD, on the other hand, even with the advent of Regulation BI, largely has…
More Thoughts On Hold Recommendations In A Reg BI World
By Alan Wolper on
I have blogged before about hold recommendations. Surprisingly – at least to me – the statistics I get from the publisher of this blog reveal that more people have read that particular post than anything else I have written since I started this thing a few years ago. That has to mean something, right? …
How The Fiduciary Rule May Impact Outside Business Activities
By Alan Wolper on
Because fixed annuities and fixed life insurance are not securities, many broker-dealers treat the sales of these products by their registered reps as outside business activities. In that event, there is no obligation by the BD to supervise those sales, and they can be run directly with the issuing company and not through the broker-dealer. …
DOL Seeks To Clarify Fiduciary Rule Timing With Temporary Enforcement Policy
By Fran Goins on
On Friday evening, March 10, 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a field assistance bulletin establishing a new temporary enforcement policy for the DOL Fiduciary Rule set to become effective on April 10, 2017. (See here) The temporary policy was designed to deal with industry uncertainty created by a new rule proposed for …
Trump Actions on the DOL Fiduciary Rule and Dodd-Frank
By Fran Goins on
Here are some important observations from my partner, Fran Goins, on two missives President Trump issued on Friday that you should know about. My own politics have made themselves pretty clear in recent posts, so it’s good to have someone comment on these presidential pronouncements without the snarkiness I would have undoubtedly injected, wittingly or …
The Wendell Belden Case And Its Progeny: Fiduciary Before Fiduciary Was Cool
By Alan Wolper on
The entire securities world is anxiously awaiting the implementation of the fiduciary standard over retirement accounts, and, by most accounts, the eventual spread of that standard to ordinary investment accounts. I am not prepared to argue that this is not a big deal, and will cost the industry a ton of time and money to…
Highlights from Day One of SIFMA-CL Conference
By Alan Wolper on
Posted in Best execution, CCO liability, Culture, Fiduciary duty, Fiduciary Standard, FINRA, municipal securities, SEC, SIFMA, Supervision
Opening Session/Firm Culture/CCO Liability. If you are reading this blog, then you, like me, have been probably eagerly waiting for the start of SIFMA’s annual Compliance and Legal conference not just for the jumbo shrimp at the reception, but also to learn some insights from the regulators about their concerns and intentions. If you…