FYI, in February, Ulmer & Berne will be hosting a series of webinars on the following: FINRA Expungement: Rule Changes and Updates on Tuesday, February 9 2:00 PM EST; SEC Update: Reg BI, Enforcement Activity, and the Willfulness Standard on Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 2:00 PM EST; Data Protection & Cybersecurity Challenges for Financial
Supervision
LPL AWC Proves, Once Again, That Big Firms Can Buy Their Way Out Of Trouble That Would Kill Small Firms
By Alan Wolper on
LPL may be the biggest BD in the country, with 21,500 reps operating out of almost 13,000 branch offices. Heaven knows how much money it brings in every year, but, goodness, it must be a lot. And good thing, too, given how much the firm keeps paying to FINRA in fines for its serial, repeated,…
Another Fine Churning Mess
By Alan Wolper on
I apologize for taking so long between posts, but, to be fair, there’s been a lot going on in the past week or so that has captured my attention! I wish everyone a happy and SAFE new year! – Alan
While undoubtedly FINRA will be issuing its annual “examination priorities” letter any day now, that…
The SEC’s New Marketing Rule: Bringing Investment Adviser Advertising From The “Mad Men” Era To The Amazon Age
By Alan Wolper on
Posted in Advertising, SEC
Happy Holidays, everyone! Since you’re all just sitting home with plenty of time on your hands, it is the perfect opportunity to enjoy this post from my colleague Denise Fesdjian, about the SEC’s new marketing rule for RIAs. – Alan
“The SEC score(s) one for the digital age.” These are the words of SEC Commissioner…
Let’s Hear It For CCOs; After All, They Are Human People
By Alan Wolper on
We have frequently blogged here about the degree of attention that regulators pay to Chief Compliance Officers, and whether it is proper that they sometimes are named individually in Enforcement actions. And we are hardly the only ones who see this issue. The New York City Bar back in February – I know, that seems…
How NOT To Supervise For Churning
By Alan Wolper on
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 standards like “reasonableness.” This past week, FINRA published an AWC submitted by Coastal Equities, Inc. that offers a…
Two — No, Make That Three — FINRA AML Settlements Drive Home The Point: When It Comes To Supervision, Actions Speak Louder Than Words
By Alan Wolper on
Right after I posted this, FINRA announced a third AML settlement, this time with Interactive Brokers. It was no small deal: it came with a $15 million fine and an obligation to retain an independent consultant. (In addition to the FINRA AWC, Interactive simultaneously entered into settlements with the SEC — with another $11.5…
The Trouble With The “Should-Have-Known” Standard, As It Applies To Red Flags
By Alan Wolper on
Last year, I wrote a piece called “Wedbush Learns That It’s Not Enough Just To Spot Red Flags.” As the title suggests, it analyzed an SEC decision in which Wedbush was sanctioned because it failed in several respects to follow up on certain red flags it saw that were indicative of potential misconduct.
I am…
When It Comes To Suitability Violations, There Is No Flattening Of The Curve
By Alan Wolper on
Posted in Disciplinary Process, Enforcement, FINRA, Rule 2111, Senior Investors, Suitability, Supervision
Let’s take a step back from Covid-19 news, for a moment, which, rightfully, has dominated the news and everyone’s collective conscience, and focus on something that has been pervasive in the broker-dealer world for much, much longer than this virus, and which has taken its own toll on the industry in terms of dollars –…
Wedbush Learns That It’s Not Enough Just To Spot Red Flags
By Alan Wolper on
Posted in SEC, Supervision
I have been busy the last month getting ready for a big arbitration, and attending the first week of what looks like is going to be a four- or five-week slog when all is said and done. So, I am just catching up on some recent developments, and mulling over what might be of interest…