Regulation and Compliance issues for Wealth Professionals can be challenging to navigate especially when the SEC is involved. Catch the latest news and analysis on compliance updates that impact financial advisors.
A NASD proposal to require that reps with three or more formal complaints against them receive extra supervision from their firms elicited a hue and cry from major broker/dealers when it was first announced in late 2003. Both reps and their firms...
To virtually no one's surprise, regulators have begun scrutinizing how 529 plans are peddled. In December, the SEC and NASD sent a letter of inquiry to Edward Jones and American Funds, requesting information on how those firms sell the college...
Aclient of mine recently received the securities industry's equivalent of the black spot that pirate death summons made famous in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. The client reacted to the arrival of the NASD's Rule 8210 letter the same...
Q: In March 2003, I purchased $80,000 of Franklin New York Tax-Free A shares for my 70+-year-old client, who wanted to hold them long-term and was eligible for the $50,000 breakpoint. She didn't need the income (as evidenced by her reinvestment of...
On Nov. 5, when SEC Chairman William Donaldson addressed the Securities Industry Association's annual meeting in Boca Raton, Fla., it was an uncomfortable moment for brokerage executives. Donaldson recited a litany of costly scandals...
Six years ago, Hilliard Lyons, a successful small broker/dealer with roots dating back to 1854, shocked many by selling itself to PNC Bank. To many, the Louisville, Ky., b/d was the model small firm, a master of its own destiny and consistently...
Q: I have about $154,000 remaining on a forgiveable loan that I received when I joined a major wirehouse in 2001. Recently I was terminated for unauthorized trading in a client's fee-based account. About 3 percent of it was invested in stocks. On...
As the holiday season approaches, the SEC is getting daily entreaties from registered investment advisors seeking an end to the broker/dealer exemption rule. The rule says brokers who charge fees for their services are exempt from regulation under...
When dealing with lawyers especially on matters as complex as securities law even the most controlling clients are tempted to go passive. The instinct is generally rooted in good intention: Stay out of the pro's way and let him work his magic. But...
Q: I joined a regional bank brokerage firm three years ago. When I hired on, I was asked to sign a nonsolicitation agreement. Eleven months later, at a cocktail party no less, I was asked to sign a revised version of the nonsolicitation, which...