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.
Like any other rep, Ron Carson, whose $870 million practice rates him as one of America's top brokers, is vulnerable. This is the conclusion he drew from a 2002 incident in which he was hit with a $12 million complaint. He was accused of a garden...
Q: In a grueling arbitration hearing this year, the complainant's attorney alleged I'd acted in a fiduciary capacity by purchasing and allocating a variable annuity for my clients. I claimed I had no fiduciary responsibility, but had merely...
As anyone who rides public transportation or watches late-night TV can attest, our society is a litigious one. We've all seen the ads: Have you or someone you love been injured? Call 800 SUE-THEM. As amusing as they might be on the surface, the...
THE QUESTION WHAT NEXT? is an expression of exasperation but also one of hope as if so much has already happened that it can't possibly get worse. With all the scandal that's buffeted the securities industry, it's understandable if reps are...
When the scandal craze that has gripped the securities industry first got its kick in the pants two years ago from Eliot Spitzer and his crew, few in the industry recognized how deep it might go. Sure, some nefarious conflicts of interest would be...
They're coming to get you. As the number of arbitrations filings increases, so too do the odds that you will be called to appear in a regulatory hearing. The complaint may not even be against you; registered reps are often summoned to testify...
The SIA Soft Dollars and Institutional Brokerage Conference took aim at a wide range of issues related to soft-dollar payments in the brokerage industry, but most of the conference's attendees were there to find out one thing: Can the practice be...
Death and taxes are an inevitable part of everyone's life. If you're a registered rep, you can add customer complaints to that short list. It's an article of faith among reps that once a complaint is lodged against them, it's an automatic black...
When Mike DiGirolamo, former head compliance officer at Raymond James Financial, was first contacted by the NASD about how the firm determined whether fee-based or commission-based accounts were appropriate for customers, he was surprised. That...
Things went from bad to worse for Greg Kinkead, a 10-year veteran advisor based in Las Vegas. In 2002, several months after switching wirehouses, Kinkead received five complaints on his previously spotless U4 form. None of the claims specified...
