FINRA Board Gets New Members; LPL, Ed Jones, Deutsche Replace Merrill, Lehman, ING execs

Jun 11, 2009

Four new members were elected to the FINRA Board o Governors today: LPL Chairman and CEO, Mark Casady, took over the Independent Dealer/Insurance Affiliate seat from John Simmers, former Chairman and CEO of ING Advisors Network, who stepped down...

The Financial Industry's Image Problem (Cont.)

Jun 11, 2009

You know that your industry has a problem — a serious trust issue — when a New York Times columnist today sums up the case against financial advisor Matthew Weitzman thusly: “So most readers of this newspaper could be victims in...

ARS Games—SEC Blames Firms, Settles with BAC, RBC and DEUTSCHE

Jun 03, 2009

When the auction rate securities market froze up in February 2008, angry clients blamed their financial advisors; financial advisors blamed their firms. Today, the SEC announced finalized settlements with Bank of America, RBC Capital Markets and...

SEC Gives Investors a Voice. Will It Be Heard?

Jun 03, 2009

Chances are the Securities and Exchange Commission announcement about its newly created Investor Advisory Committee will get plenty of eye rolls.

Faking It Versus Making It

Jun 01, 2009

In a recent keynote address, I asked my audience of advisors and managers to imagine the following scenario: We're in the midst of a serious flu epidemic. As a result, a lot of sick people have flooded hospitals and doctors' offices throughout the...

When Growth Is The Problem

Jun 01, 2009

It wasn't long ago that Larry Rothenberg had the kind of problem most advisors would kill for. Sometime in 2004, he recalls, his team, which then consisted of three senior financial advisors, three junior FAs and six client associates (CA), was...

Blotter

Jun 01, 2009

Hedgie Gets $62M Fine: Michael Lauer, head of Lancer management Group and Lancer Management Group II, two Connecticut-based hedge funds, was ordered on May 14 to fork over $62 million within 15 days as a result of being found liable on SEC fraud...

Fix My Business: Hiring Good Help

Jun 01, 2009

A veteran independent advisor, Joe Ventura needs junior associates with sufficient get-up-and-go to help attract new business. Trouble is, he's having a tough time finding them. As usual, we turned to our panel of experts: Hellen Davis, president...

Street Legal: Red Flags

Jun 01, 2009

I 'm not saying that FINRA is seeing Communists under every bed, but lately, our regulator is sure seeing a lot of Reds as in red flags. Consider these two recent disciplinary actions. Waving Red Flags Registered Principal Robert Anthony Bellia Jr...