Securities regulators' actions against Morgan Keegan & Co. put its
brokers in the same basic category as investors: duped.
by Ian Salisbury
In Washington, almost anything will fly if you can make an argument it will benefit the middle class. It worked in the fight against requiring advisors to act in clients' best interests.
by
Jeff Schlegel
The CFP Board of Standards Inc. this week added
two members to its Disciplinary and Ethics Commission, filling out the
nine-person body that doles out penalties for misconduct violations.
A proposal to hire an investors' advocate at the Securities and
Exchange Commission begs the question: What is the SEC advocating now,
if not the interests of investors?
The most vocal opposition to the push to make financial advisors more
responsible to clients hasn't come from Wall Street firms or giant
banks, but insurance
companies.
The securities industry should begin to prepare
for a fiduciary standard even if lawmakers have put off any such move in the
short term, the CEO of FINRA
said this week.
by
Jeff Schlegel
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's head of enforcement, Susan
Merrill, is leaving her job, according to published reports.
by
Jeff Schlegel
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's head of enforcement, Susan
Merrill, is leaving her job, according to published reports.
by
Jeff Schlegel
The Senate's financial services
reform bill included the deletion of a provision
that would have applied the fiduciary standard of care to the
broker-dealer world.
A key consideration in the review-and rare
reversal-of longstanding sanctions against two brokers involved this
question: Can one family member adequately supervise another?
by
Ray Fazzi
First Allied Securities Inc. has agreed to pay $1.95 million to
settle charges that it failed to supervise a broker who allegedly
engaged in fraudulent trading.
Weighing the risks and rewards of voluntarily reporting compliance
lapses to the Securities and Exchange Commission is a tricky issue for
investment advisors.
by
Jeff Schlegel
A new Massachusetts law aimed at protecting personal information could ultimately require
financial advisors to boost their security measures to protect client
data.
Changes to the SEC's rules about custody of client assets go into
effect in two weeks, and advisors say they are still trying to figure
out how to comply with them.
Morgan Stanley's suit against employees who left to join HighTower Advisors and its regulatory complaint against the firm are being called a power play to make brokers think twice about leaving.
A government move to make U.S. single-family offices register as
investment advisors shows how the interests of the super-wealthy are
cast aside when they run up against populist measures.
by
Dorothy Hinchcliff
A former Merrill Lynch financial advisor could face a seven-year prison
term after pleading guilty to stealing nearly $700,000 from his clients
and spending the money himself.
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority proposal to significantly
expand public information about brokers will fill gaps that remained
after earlier changes, say investor advocates.
State are eying plans to examine thousands of additional advisors. Can they afford it?
Advisors who trade clients' securities through omnibus accounts need to
ask their qualified custodians a few questions before new SEC custody rules take effect in March.
