In February, Registered Rep. will introduce a new monthly column, “The Ethical Rep,” perhaps the first of its kind in the securities industry.
A team of more than 30 prominent securities attorneys, law school professors and industry experts will answer questions that you, our readers, send anonymously to the magazine.
Have you been asked to do something at work that sets off alarm bells in that part of the brain that houses the conscience? Have you seen someone at your firm pushing the envelope perhaps a little too aggressively? Are you hesitant to consider changing firms because you don’t fully understand the implications on your client base?
If you’ve answered “yes” to these questions (or if you have any others), don’t lose any beauty sleep over them. Just ask our experts.
Each month a handful of questions and answers will be published. To insure each query gets a comprehensive answer, questions will be answered by two experts. The opinions expressed in the column will be theirs (not necessarily those of Registered Rep.) Experts will be identified by name, title and firm or university, in case you want to contact them to follow up.
And, don’t worry about your identity being divulged. If you wish to remain anonymous, we’ll happily honor that request. Though it helps to have some contact information in case we need some clarification on your question, we understand that some questions—indeed, many of the best questions—will probably require that the asker remain in the shadows.
You can send your questions to Registered Rep.'s Contributing Editor Ann Therese Palmer, who will coordinate the column. A.T. can be reached at:
- Mail: Registered Rep.,
Third Floor, 249 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011-5300
- E-mail:
- Fax:
(212) 206-3923
A non-practicing Chicago attorney, Palmer is a veteran, prize-winning freelance financial reporter whose work frequently appears in Business Week Magazine and The Chicago Tribune Business Section. She also has a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Notre Dame, where she earned an undergraduate degree in 1973.
“In the last year, it’s become apparent the securities industry has changed so quickly and fundamentally it’s tough for brokers and salespeople to stay current on what’s right and proper,” Palmer says. “What’s legal concerning broker hiring, voluntary and involuntary termination from firms is also changing in many ways. Yet because people are working harder than ever, there isn’t the time to keep up with new ethical and legal developments.”
We’ve recruited the best and the brightest to answer your questions, but the success of this column depends on you. It’s not going to work unless we hear from you.
So, do yourself and your conscience a favor. If you’ve encountered a situation at work with which you’re dubious or uncomfortable or if you’ve stumbled into a gray area and are unclear about the ethical or legal ramifications, don’t stew about it.
Send your questions to “The Ethical Rep” today and give yourself a New Year’s gift—a clear conscience.
