Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Fiduciary investment advice: The patchwork emerges
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – SEC enforcement
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Complying with new SEC rules for broker-dealers
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – DOL: What’s ahead
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series – Account Recommendations Under Regulation BI
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Special Challenges For Dual Registrants
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Account Monitoring Post-Regulation BI
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Regulation BI Recordkeeping Requirements
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Establishing An Investment Platform Post-Regulation BI
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA’s) 2025 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report provides member firms with key insights and observations from its regulatory operations programs. The report covers fixtures such...more
Among other things, FINRA is focusing on services and recommendations by broker-dealers and their registered representatives to retirees, senior investors and investors with diminished capacity. The Report has one part...more
On January 13, FINRA accepted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) from a financial services member firm to address allegations of supervisory failures related to recommendations of alternative investments. ...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of Examinations released its annual report of examination priorities on October 21, 2024 (the Exam Priorities). The annual Exam Priorities report, which is designed...more
A broker-dealer failed to reasonably supervise its registered representatives when making recommendations of certain variable rate structured products (“VRSPs”), including fixed to floating rate steepeners and other variable...more
On July 19, FINRA accepted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) from a member firm to resolve alleged Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) violations. According to the AWC, from June 2020 to March 2023, the member...more
This amendment builds on FINRA’s recent willingness to relax the prohibition on the use of projections and targeted returns in the marketing materials broker-dealers deliver to institutional investors and qualified...more
On January 9, 2024, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority published its 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report. Previously titled Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program, the Report is released...more
A September report of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) on broker-dealer compliance with the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) finds...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 priorities letter represents only a sliver of the topics firms can expect exam teams to cover this year. In developing the priorities, SEC staff noted their outreach directly to state securities regulators and...more
The risk alert highlights deficiencies the staff identified during examinations and provides examples of weak practices observed at firms. EXAMS staff intends for the alert to assist broker-dealers in reviewing and enhancing...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
On January 10, 2023, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) released its 2023 Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program (the “Report), available at: 2023 Report on FINRA’s Examination and...more
Allegations of unauthorized trading claims present significant risks for investment brokers and brokerage firms. In addition to investor arbitration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), brokers and...more
Welcome to the latest issue of Bracewell’s FINRA Facts and Trends, a monthly newsletter devoted to condensing and digesting recent FINRA developments in the areas of enforcement, regulation and dispute resolution. This...more
FINRA recently hosted a conference call with its smaller members covering Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS compliance. FINRA’s resounding message was that there is “no one-size-fits all” approach to Reg. BI...more
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
Noting Deficiencies, FINRA Suggests Best Practices for Reg BI Compliance - During its first-ever review of compliance with Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) found...more
I attended the four-day SIFMA Compliance and Legal seminar last week, and there were a bunch of interesting soundbites from regulators that folks might find interesting. The challenge at these conferences is always...more
This is the first in a series of alerts discussing topics covered by FINRA in its 2022 Examination and Risk Monitoring Program Report (the “Report”). Here we take a look at Regulation Best Interest (“Reg. BI”) and Form CRS,...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”)’s Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”) imposes a heightened best interest standard on broker-dealers when recommending securities transactions or investment strategies. ...more
Not long after the SEC adopted Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) and the related Form CRS Relationship Summary in June 2019, the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (now the Division of Examinations) issued...more
The importance of investment advisers and broker-dealers to comply with obligations under Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS was highlighted by the recent filing of 27 enforcement actions by the Securities and Exchange...more
During a May 19, 2021 webcast at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (“FINRA”) annual conference, Amy Sochard, FINRA’s Vice President of Advertising Regulation, indicated that the organization will seek public...more