On May 15, 2024, the SEC announced it would make amendments to Regulation S-P (Reg S-P). This will be the first amendment to the regulation since its adoption 24 years ago in 2000. The regulation focuses on how institutions...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
The 2023 Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s (SIFMA) Compliance & Legal Annual Seminar, as usual, was well attended by compliance and legal professionals, including FINRA executives and SEC directors. The...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
2/2/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Consolidated Audit Trail ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Investors ,
Mobile Apps ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Risk Management ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Care
On September 27, 2022, the SEC announced that it had sanctioned 15 Broker-Dealers and one affiliated RIA for widespread recordkeeping violations of Section 17(a)(1) of the Exchange Act and Rule 17a-4(b)(4) thereunder...more
10/4/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cease and Desist ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Penalties ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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 recent years there has been a spate of legislation and rules passed to protect senior investors. Similarly, observers of FINRA’s and the SEC’s annual priorities will, of course, have noticed both bodies’ inclusion of elder...more
5/9/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Elder Abuse ,
Elder Issues ,
Exploitation ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Senior Safe Act
A common phrase to abide by in the New Year is “out with the old, in with the new.” FINRA’s 2022 Report on its Examination and Risk Monitoring Program (the “Report”), however, contains a combination of old and new priorities....more
F. Scott Fitzgerald said “There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.” FINRA may be all of these in 2022, as FINRA CEO Robert Cook announced FINRA’s laundry list of priorities during a SIFMA Q&A last...more
Robinhood, “an introducing broker-dealer that provides commission-free trading to retail customers through its website and mobile applications,” recently agreed to pay a record-setting amount of $70 million — consisting of a...more
Ben Franklin once said “by failing to prepare, you prepare to fail.” Based on the SEC’s latest risk alert concerning broker-dealers’ anti-money laundering (AML) compliance (or lack thereof), some firms would be well served to...more
On January 8, 2021, without admitting or denying the findings, VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc., (VALIC) entered into a settlement with FINRA Enforcement, through an Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) where the factual...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hosted a virtual roundtable in late October to discuss the Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) and Form CRS. With a few months of observations from examinations since the June...more
On October 8, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a joint statement by SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and the SEC’s directors of the Division of Investment Management and the Division of Trading and...more
All things come to those who wait … even Regulation Best Interest (colloquially known as Reg BI). In what now feels like a lifetime since the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted it (believe it or not, it was only...more
A three-judge panel of the Second Circuit entertained arguments on June 2, 2020, in a lawsuit seeking to vacate and set aside the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI). By way of...more
Brokers seeking to expunge customer complaints from their records can sleep a bit easier. Richard Berry, head of FINRA’s Office of Dispute Resolution (ODR), stated last week that FINRA intends to tweak some restrictions that...more
In light of the significance of the final rules and Commission interpretations issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 5, 2019, our Best Interest Compliance Team issued a series of articles on the...more
Following the passage of last year’s federal Senior Safe Act, several states moved to beef up protections for senior investors by permitting brokers to act without liability.
• Rhode Island’s Senior Savings Protection Act...more
As the countdown to the June 30, 2020, date for compliance with Reg BI inches forward, FINRA and the SEC are providing a potpourri of support and information to help firms ensure compliance.
FINRA EFFORTS: FINRA’s...more
12/19/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Firms ,
Investment Management ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Standard of Conduct ,
Stress Tests
On June 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Regulation Best Interest Final Package, the new disclosure requirements that accompany the financial services industry’s new Regulation Best Interest...more
8/20/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Form CRS ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Transactions ,
Standard of Care ,
Standard of Conduct
In light of the significance of Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) for the financial services industry, Drinker Biddle & Reath’s Best Interest Compliance Team is publishing a series of articles on the Securities and Exchange...more
8/19/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Standard of Conduct
Justice Brandeis once famously said that sunlight is the best disinfectant. Perhaps, but in FINRA’s purview, settlements might be better. Along these lines, FINRA recently announced that it has reached final settlements in...more
It often is said that “it’s not the crime, but the cover-up” that is the most damaging to someone alleged to have committed misconduct. In a recent FINRA enforcement action, however, the cover-up was the crime. On July 3,...more