Chris Flint has won a large firms seat on the FINRA Board of Governors, the regulatory agency announced on Monday. The victory comes several weeks after Flint, the president and CEO of the Birmingham, Ala.-based registered investment advisor and broker/dealer firm ProEquities, announced his candidacy for the seat. FINRA small firm members elected Linde Murphy, the chief compliance officer at M.E. Allison & Co., as a representative on the board for small firms. Flint will be one of three representatives for large firms on the 24-member board.
“Our new Board members bring with them a broad array of backgrounds and experiences,” FINRA CEO Robert Cook said. “Their diverse perspectives will be a valuable contribution to our ongoing commitment to protecting investors and ensuring vibrant markets.”
In an interview shortly after announcing his candidacy, Flint told WealthManangement.com that he hoped to increase FINRA board representation of firms who directly offer financial advice to clients, with his platform specifying that he hoped to end rulemaking by enforcement, arguing firms had difficulty operating when penalized for actions committed prior to changed rules. A proponent of SEC’s Regulation Best Interest, he also said the board would play a pivotal role in determining how FINRA member firms should act in regard to the rule, which goes into effect next June.
“When you look across the public governors and you look across the industry governors, there needs to be a stronger weighting toward board members with an array of experiences that can more broadly represent the diversity of firms that make up the large firm members,” Flint said.
Flint was endorsed by the Bank Insurance & Securities Association (BISA), the first time the association has endorsed a FINRA board candidate. He was also endorsed by the Financial Services Institute, and has served on FSI’s board of directors since January. FSI President and CEO Dale Brown lauded Flint’s win, noting his victory was the latest in a series of successful endorsements of FINRA board candidates by the institute.
“One of our top goals is to make the value of the independent model to investors better understood by all stakeholders,” Brown said. “Having now helped our third petition candidate secure a FINRA Board seat in the last four years, we’re more confident than ever that strong progress is being made toward this goal.”
