It came as no surprise that FINRA’s 2022 Examination and Risk Monitoring Program Report highlighted communications with the public as a continued area of focus. The primary theme across this focus area relates to the sufficiency of internal processes, procedures, and controls. As FINRA has done with other areas, the…
The SEC recently published its 2022 Examination Priorities Letter on the heels of FINRA issuing its 2022 Examination and Risk Monitoring Program Report. One of many areas of common focus is financial management, and more specifically, net capital requirements and safekeeping of funds and securities. The SEC, for example, reminded…
Our recent client alert discusses an SEC staff bulletin reiterating the standards of conduct applicable to broker-dealers and investment advisers when making account recommendations to retail investors. Broker-dealers are subject to Reg. BI. Investment advisers are subject to the fiduciary standard under the Advisers Act. The standards of conduct are…
The SEC Division of Examinations recently published its list of priorities for 2022. While it was a bit late compared to a typical year, the priorities letter provides a roadmap for firms to better understand where the Division will take its examination efforts over the coming months. Significant focus areas…
The SEC recently proposed rules that would greatly expand the Exchange Act definition of “dealer” and essentially kill the existing dealer/trader distinction long-recognized by the SEC. The likely outcome is that most proprietary trading firms will need to register with the SEC as dealers and become members of FINRA or…
FINRA recently published Regulatory Notice 22-10 reminding firms of the scope of Rule 3110 (Supervision) and the potential liability of Chief Compliance Officers for failure to reasonably discharge supervisory responsibilities delegated to them. FINRA recognizes that compliance and supervision are distinct roles that carry different obligations. FINRA has said that…
FINRA recently reminded firms of their obligation to execute marketable customer orders fully and promptly. While this seems fairly routine, what’s notable about the reminder is that “prompt” doesn’t necessarily mean what it used to. FINRA Rule 5310 (Best Execution and Interpositioning) requires a firm to “make every effort to…
Our recent client alert distills FINRA’s findings on Reg. BI and Form CRS so you don’t need to read it all yourself.
On February 15, 2022, the SEC announced settlements with 12 broker-dealers and investment advisers for failing to satisfy their Form CRS obligations. These settlements come on the heels of 27 settlements last year for similar violations. While all settlements included both a failure to timely file and deliver relationship summaries,…
Our recent client alert discusses recent FINRA rule changes to provide broker-dealers with additional resources to prevent elder financial fraud.