Attentive readers will recall that a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned in a preface to great post from Chris about expungement becoming an endangered creature due to changes in FINRA rule that I was about to embark on a...more
I dare you. In fact, I double-dog dare you to figure out how or why FINRA decides to charge willfulness in some cases but not in others. Bottom line is that it is nearly impossible (except if you’re a big firm, in which case...more
10/21/2020
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Misrepresentation ,
Professional Disciplinary Actions ,
Registered Representatives ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement
Having completed my Enforcement hearing conducted by Zoom – more about that in an upcoming post – I can finally turn my attention back to some matters that arose while I was busy.
One that stood out for the sheer (and...more
As the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals made clear a week or so ago, serving as a FINRA arbitrator seems rather apropos in a world where the score is not kept in kids’ baseball games (to avoid there being any “losers”), and...more
Carlos Legaspy is a respondent in a FINRA arbitration that was scheduled to go to hearing in August. As with all other FINRA cases, it was subject to a sweeping administrative decision by FINRA to postpone all in-person...more
8/20/2020
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Dismissals ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Teleconferences ,
TRO ,
Virtual Meetings ,
Zoom®
For the third year, FINRA has published its now-annual (apparently) statistical accounting of its membership and the registered representatives who work for those firms. I went back and looked the blogs I posted after the...more
The longer I do this, the more apparent it becomes just how little anything changes. Sure, some things do change, a little. Rule numbers may get updated, as Rule 2310 becomes Rule 2111. Things that once may have been done...more
I hope that you have had the chance to enjoy Jessica Hopper’s paean to Rule 8210 in her recent blog posted on FINRA’s website. Very disturbing, and for all the old reasons.
First, once again, she starts by patting herself –...more
After having proudly served for decades, and surviving a dramatic face-lift in 2012 (when old NASD Rule 2310 was replaced by shiny new FINRA Rule 2111), it seems that the “suitability rule,” as we’ve come to know it, has, at...more
This will be a quick one, but I just had to get something off my chest before the weekend. As you probably know, there is an election upcoming. No, not that one, the one to elect certain members of FINRA’s Board of...more
I have blogged before about hold recommendations. Surprisingly – at least to me – the statistics I get from the publisher of this blog reveal that more people have read that particular post than anything else I have written...more
Seems like just days ago I blogged about Jessica Hopper and her commitment to providing restitution to customers. Since I posted that blog, there were two other settlements (which I added to that blog as updates) in which...more
Two years ago, when it was just an ugly rule proposal, I blogged about FINRA’s intent to modify its MAP rules to “Incentivize Payment of Arbitration Awards.” Sadly, FINRA once again showed it spinelessness by pushing these...more
Last year, I wrote a piece called “Wedbush Learns That It’s Not Enough Just To Spot Red Flags.” As the title suggests, it analyzed an SEC decision in which Wedbush was sanctioned because it failed in several respects to...more
I may have said this before in another post, but in my opinion, whether a baseball umpire is good or bad is not a matter of whether he has a low strikezone, a high strikezone, or a wide one. What matters is that whatever that...more
I hope that, by now, everyone understands and appreciates just how freakishly sensitive the regulators are to misconduct involving the wrongful sharing of confidential information. If you don’t, however, FINRA was kind enough...more
Let’s take a step back from Covid-19 news, for a moment, which, rightfully, has dominated the news and everyone’s collective conscience, and focus on something that has been pervasive in the broker-dealer world for much, much...more
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that one of my pet peeves with FINRA is its unrelenting zeal to bar people, permanently, from the securities industry. Seemingly without much regard for the actual conduct at...more
I read with interest earlier this week that a judge in Texas conducted a one-day bench trial via Zoom, apparently representing the first time this has happened. I understand that hearings, i.e., matters that involve arguments...more
Forced to sit at home under government-ordered decree, and having finished binge-watching Season 3 of Ozark and Season 4 of Money Heist on Netflix, what’s left to do except prey upon scared investors – particularly seniors –...more
I think that most lawyers who handle arbitrations, no matter what side of the table they occupy, would agree that one of the most important components of the case – perhaps the most important – is the selection of the...more
A couple of years ago, I complained... about FINRA’s Office of Disciplinary Affairs, or ODA. I am here to report that…nothing has changed.
Let me explain. I am defending a FINRA Enforcement case that is scheduled to go to...more
The day after Christmas, FINRA issued a press release announcing that five big firms – Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase, LPL, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch – had each entered into a settlement, collectively agreeing to pay a...more
From time to time, I have lamented that FINRA does not hold itself to the same lofty standards to which it holds its members. I realize I am painting with a broad brush, as there are lots of folks at FINRA who do a great job,...more
1/3/2020
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disciplinary Proceedings ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Firms ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investment Funds ,
Restitution ,
Vacated
My young boys will sometimes chase me around the house, catch me, and yell “gotcha” as they drag me off to their pretend jail. No matter how much I plead that I’ve done nothing wrong, I always end up in jail, despite having...more
12/19/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Lack of Interpretive Guidance ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions