http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/ en-us http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_no_second_chances street-legal Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_paperwork_shortcut_nearly To avoid looking foolish to a customer, the rep makes a terrible choice. street-legal Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/you_sure_they_settled_that_finra_arbitration_really_why_1003 Just another day in the life of FINRA's arbitration forum. street-legal Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_not_always_brokers_0901 In November 2009, Dr. Donald Steinberg filed an arbitration claim with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority alleging a whole host of sins against Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and a broker. Foremost among Steinberg's gripes was the now-regretted purchase of Alpine Total Dynamic Fund, peppered with allegations of misrepresentations/non-disclosures, omission of facts, street-legal Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_lawyer_stockbroker_exwife Many supposedly sophisticated professionals fail to stay on top of their estate planning. street-legal Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/stockbrokers_career_ends_with_tilt_0701 The road to Hell may be paved with good intentions, but stockbroker Earnest Flowers III seems to have found a shortcut. History shows us how easily investors are victimized by what is known as affinity fraud — in this case, the victims seem to have fallen prey to Flowers because of their common church affiliation. Notwithstanding the apparent cloak of religion, this fraud is little more than the most banal of modern-day securities scams: the Ponzi scheme. street-legal Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_regulatory_semantics_customer The first domino in this cascade of disaster fell on Sept. 17, 2008, when an unidentified Merrill Lynch registered representative received an email customer complaint. It said that the representative had entered an unauthorized order for Fannie Mae preferred stock instead of Fannie Mae bonds, and it requested a meeting with a Merrill manager. street-legal Mon, 20 Jun 2011 09:30:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_blaming_naming_finra_gaming_0501 Suppose that an unhappy investor didn't specifically name you in a lawsuit or arbitration when he complained about your investing advice. You'd think that would get you off the regulatory disclosure hook, right? Think again. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's rules, you could still be required to file a disclosure report even if your name is omitted from the caption of respondents (in arbitrations) or defendants (in court proceedings) — and even if you're not identified by name in the complaint. street-legal Fri, 13 May 2011 08:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_off_clock_record_0409 Know what you can do—and what you can’t—outside of work. street-legal Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finra_and_fa_tweeting0415 FINRA deemed that an advisor’s tweets about a public company were unbalanced and lacked the necessary disclosure about the “substantial positions” held in the stock by the advisor and her family. street-legal Tue, 15 Mar 2011 14:47:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_beware_bankrupt_financial A FINRA arbitration notes personal bankruptcy and credit problems. street-legal Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_open_shut_arbitration Repayment of an EFL rested on whether a UBS branch was permanently closed. street-legal Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_till_death_arbitration Advisors can face collateral damage when spouses feud over assets. street-legal Sat, 01 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_honor_impugned_advisor FINRA backs an advisor's effort to clear his name. street-legal Wed, 01 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_best_defense_good How FINRA arbitrations can backfire on employers. street-legal Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_message_medium The SEC warns there are no "private" business communications. street-legal Fri, 01 Oct 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_regulatory_consistency_roads There is a troubling lack of uniformity among regulators. street-legal Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_finra_arbitration_sometimes Getting your day in court or arbitration may be more costly than you bargained for. street-legal Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_notsoclever_resignation_strategy Don't change your clients' phone numbers and addresses just before quitting. street-legal Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/uk_junks_fsa_what_about_sec_0618 The SEC is a gas-guzzling dinosaur of a vehicle whose engine warning-light went on years ago. It is a wheezing, dyspeptic boiler in our basement. Nothing good will come of this. street-legal Fri, 18 Jun 2010 09:42:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_outside_business_why Sometimes outside business activities are a no-win proposition. street-legal Tue, 01 Jun 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/widows_always_win_wachovia_busted_0521 Seventy-nine-year-old widow Lois Pillen alleged that in 2007, various securities were purchased in her Wachovia Securities LLC account without her authorization. The FINRA Arbitrator found Respondent Wachovia liable for and $26,000.00 in compensatory damages plus interest; and ordered Wachovia to pay Pillen $225 in costs. street-legal Fri, 28 May 2010 10:33:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_finra_honor_principle Why is the regulator always Gone Fishin' when it comes to employee rights? street-legal Sat, 01 May 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/sec_finds_it_missed_clues_to_stanford_ponzi0428 Why did the SEC miss a 2002 letter that warned about the Stanford Ponzi scheme? An SEC internal investigation blames "institutional influences" within the SEC. The SEC investigation report release date? The day the SEC brought the fraud case against Goldman. street-legal Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:05:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_tale_two_citis When advisors lose their jobs but decide to keep loans or other payments from their former employers, expensive legal trouble can follow. The issue is how much, if any, of the money they received when they first joined the company is cash they are entitled to keep when they depart. Take the remarkably short-lived relationship between Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Daniel Joseph Henrichs. In November street-legal Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_getting_suitability It's not enough to warn your customers about risk. street-legal Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_expenseive_lessons Fudging your expense records has regulatory consequences. street-legal Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:00:00 EDT http://registeredrep.com/columns/street-legal/finance_woodshed Why is it always the little guy who gets sent to the regulator's woodshed? street-legal Fri, 01 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EDT