The Anatomy of an Alleged FraudApr 27, 2009By John churchill The SEC hasn’t yet charged Allen Stanford with a crime, but it would seem the regulator is getting much closer.... Gadfly to FINRA: “Better,” “Fairer” Regulation PleaseMar 6, 2009By David A. Geracioti We really don’t want to take sides, but we can’t help but notice that our long-time legal columnist Bill Singer is throwing down the gauntlet again. He’s challenging FINRA—for a meeting. You see, Bill Singer has a history of, as he says, “driving regulators crazy, from the NASD to FINRA and the SEC.” In the 1990s, he founded the NASD Dissident Movement and became one of the first four candidates in that SRO’s history to challenge its slate of Board candidates. Since then, he frequently joins forces with those who prefer the title of NASD (now FINRA) Reformers, and together the FINRA Dissident/Reform Movement has lobbied for what it calls “more cogent rulemaking and more effective regulation.” (This is not imply that every regional/indie brokerage agrees with Singer and his Dissident/Reform Movement.) ... SEC Sued by Stanford Group Advisors for Violation of Constitutional RightsMar 4, 2009By John Churchill The SEC’s civil fraud charges against R. Allen Stanford are having nasty repercussions for Stanford Financial Group financial advisors and clients not implicated in any wrongdoing. The SEC has frozen client accounts of Stanford Financial Group advisors, and the SEC ordered the advisors not to communicate with their clients. So advisors, who are not individually accused of any wrong doing (and, in some cases, only recently joined the advisory) are fighting back—and suing the SEC. ... More Multi-Million Dollar Ponzis and Thousand-Dollar Teddy Bears! DOJ, SEC Bust and Freeze Assets of “Commodity Traders”Feb 25, 2009By John Churchill Whether it’s redemption requests or the fact that the regulatory staff is working overtime (18 hour days in some offices we hear ) since the Madoff bust or some combination of both, the capital market cops are putting up some big charges of late. Three today, and counting. ... Wall Street Turf Wars: SEC Versus FedJul 24, 2008By Kristen French Could it be that a turf war is breaking out? In testimony before Congress Thursday morning, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox asked legislators to give the SEC authority to regulate investment banks. ... More Trouble In Auction-Rate Securities LandMar 28, 2008By David A. Geracioti If you are a retail financial advisor at UBS and have client assets stuck in the auction-rate securities market, your new ad slogan might be: “UBS, You Are Pissed At Us.” That’s because the Wall Street Journal’s website is reporting that UBS is marking down the value of auction-rate securities held by individuals in their brokerage accounts. The markdowns were scheduled this afternoon, and will cut the value from between 2 percent and 20 percent of the value of the securities. The market for “resets,” as the market is sometimes known, has frozen up after the credit ratings of bond insurers were put on review. In the absence of other buyers, few banks want to put up their own capital to buy the securities, experts say. As a result, retail financial advisors have had the unpleasant task of telling their wealthy clients that they couldn’t access their own money. ... Advisors: No Love Lost On SpitzerMar 12, 2008By Kristen French Eliot Spitzer, who’s dramatic demise over the past few days has been covered backwards and forwards by every media outlet in the country, is not getting a lot of sympathy from Wall Street reps or executives. Many of them are celebrating the fact: Merrill Lynch’s board of directors is said to have cheered euphorically at the news that the crusading former attorney general—and now former governor—had become the client of a high-end prostitution ring, forcing him to resign, according to advisors at the firm. ... Drink Pepsi, Raise The DeadJul 13, 2007By John Churchill The regulatory body composed of the NYSE Regulation and the NASD Regulation, known for the past 5 weeks as SIRA, is getting another name.... Spitzer Forms Panel to Clean up NY RegulationMay 29, 2007By Kristen French In his new role as New York governor, Eliot Spitzer is joining forces with those he used to terrorize—Wall Street chief executives—to modernize financial services regulation in the state, the Financial Times reports. Spitzer is forming a panel with the executives, as well as with lawyers, consumer groups and regulators to streamline regulations and make New York more competitive with London, without sacrificing investor protection. The committee will be chaired by Eric Dinallo, the New York insurance superintendent, and will seek to simplify regulation of insurance companies state-chartered banks and securities dealers. ... Massachusetts Enforces Rules On Use of Senior DesignationsMay 17, 2007By Halah Touryalai This week Massachusetts fired a round in the new regulatory war waged by state securities regulators against the use of senior designations to commit senior fraud. The Massachusetts State Securities Division adopted the nation’s first regulation requiring advisors to advertise only accredited credentials, or credentials that can clearly demonstrate that they call for meaningful expertise, when offering financial advice to elderly clients.... NASD Chair Sees Better Oversight of New ProductsMay 14, 2007By Kevin Burke WASHINGTON, D.C. – Speaking at the 49th annual Investment Company Institute general membership meeting, NASD Chairman Mary Shapiro told mutual fund executives she sees better regulation of investment products as a result of the expected merger of the NYSE and NASD regulatory bodies. While this potentially is better news for investors, purveyors of mutual funds may find themselves in the crosshairs when bringing more nuanced products to market.... SEC Impostors on the LooseMay 10, 2007By Kristen French Crooks come in all shapes and sizes—even, apparently, in the guise of SEC examiners and staff. The SEC issued an alert Thursday to securities industry firms, warning them to keep an eye out for impostors—individuals pretending to work for the SEC. Not the most menacing of disguises, you might think. But on the other hand, regulatory fines and bars can hurt. ... Morgan Stanley to pay $7.96 Million for Best Execution FraudMay 9, 2007By Christina Mucciolo Today the Securities Exchange Commission announced Morgan Stanley will pay $7.96 million and penalties to settle the SEC’s charges against the firm for failing to provide best execution to clients. More specifically, the SEC charged Morgan with undisclosed mark-ups and mark-downs on certain retail over-the-counter orders processed by its automated market-making system, as well as delayed execution of other retail OTC orders.... After Court Ruling, It’s Back to Business Like It’s 1999Apr 4, 2007By John Churchill If you’re like most registered reps these days, you’ve got some portion of your clients in a fee-based compensation arrangement. And, no doubt, you’ve been selling yourself as a full-service, top-to-bottom “financial advisor,” financial consultant, wealth manager or some other such glorified title. (Does anyone’s card read stockbroker anymore?)... Alphabet Soup: Massachusetts May Ban Some Advisor DesignationsFeb 7, 2007By Halah Touryalai Advisors who hold certain obscure professional designations may want to think twice about touting their alleged specialties on their business cards, mailings or other advertisements—at least in the state of Massachusetts.... No Parking: NASD Clamps Down On Registration ViolationsFeb 7, 2007By Kevin Burke "Parking" a Series 7 license at a broker/dealer when you're not performing any brokerage functions for the firm has been a longstanding -- though illegal -- practice on Wall Street. Firms have used under-the-table agreements as a way of retaining and attracting new talent by promising to keep erstwhile reps registered when they are no longer acting in an actual registered rep capacity. And while this illegal sponsorship has been an open secret for years, regulators have vowed to put a stop to it. This may have a direct impact on those who have turned fee-only advisor but have been parking their Series 7s.... Fraud Suits Hit Record LowFeb 1, 2007Halah Touryalai Wall Street seems to have cleaned up its act. Or maybe it's just that people aren't losing buckets of money in the stock market anymore. ... SEC Finally Approves Overhaul of Arbitration Code: Some Lawyers Are UnderwhelmedJan 25, 2007By Karen Donovan The Securities and Exchange Commission on Jan. 24 approved a new code of procedures that govern arbitrations at the NASD Dispute Resolution. The changes were a long time coming: Some of them have been sitting at the SEC since 2003. ... Fighting the U5Nov 1, 2006By Jacob H. Zamansky New York's highest court will soon decide whether a brokerage employee can contest the language an employer uses in the Form U5... Secret Agreements with Clients Can BackfireNov 1, 2006By Bill Singer NASD has been watching for brokers and firms who borrow from clients, agree to share losses or settle disputes privately... Listen to Your ClientNov 1, 2006By Ann Therese Palmer If a client insists on liquidating part of her portfolio, particularly assets that are heavily concentrated, it's very risky to ignore her request... Agent or Fiduciary?Oct 1, 2006By Ann Therese Palmer The line between brokers and fiduciaries has gotten blurry. When does a broker cross over?... The Long Arm of NASDOct 1, 2006By Bill Singer In arbitration, the SRO warns you don't have Constitutional protection. But, there are limits... Fight ClubOct 1, 2006By Kevin Burke Scrappy independent b/d's are swinging back against an NASD regime that they say has beaten them down and largely ignored their concerns... Mediation MamboOct 1, 2006Halah Touryalai If you've got legal trouble, October may be your lucky month: It's mediation month. The program of events, sponsored by the NASD, kicks off on Oct. 3... |
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A bunch of social media services have emerged to help financial services firms comply with regulations and make the most of social networks to build business. They've got big plans for 2012.
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