FINRA has proposed a rule change which would limit a registered person’s ability to be named as a customer’s beneficiary or hold a position of trust for a customer. The new rule would be known as FINRA Rule 3241.
This is the second of several posts discussing the similarities and differences of the SEC’s recently-implemented Regulation Best Interest (“Reg. B-I”) and the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct. Previously, we discussed the difference in the standard of conduct required by the CFP Board code and Reg B-I. In this post, we will look at the duty of care required by the CFP Board and Reg B-I.
UBS Financial Services Inc. has agreed to pay $10 million to settle charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC”) that UBS circumvented the priority given to retail investors for certain municipal bond offerings.
Citadel Securities agreed to pay a $700,000 fine as well as an unspecified amount of restitution to settle alleged violations with FINRA Enforcement. According to FINRA Enforcement, Citadel traded ahead of certain inactive over-the-counter customer (“OTC”) orders, failed to consistently apply its written methodology to certain OTC customer orders, failed to display certain OTC customer limit orders and also had related supervisory failures.
This is the first of several posts discussing the similarities and differences of the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest and the CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct.
Michael Barry Carter, a former advisor at Morgan Stanley, pleaded guilty to federal charges of wire fraud and investment advisor fraud. According to the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”), Carter stole more than $6 million over a period of almost 12 years. The DOJ said that most of Carter’s victims were senior investors.
This is the fifth of several posts detailing the CFP Board enforcement process. This post will focus on the rules regarding a Petition for Fitness Determination.
Co-founder and managing partner of International Investment Group, David Hu, was arrested and charged with running Ponzi scheme of more than $100 million. Federal authorities accused Hu of overvaluing loans and covering up the scheme with falsified documents and fake entities. According to federal authorities, the scheme has gone on for more than 10 years.
The Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is well aware that national emergencies often lead to increases in fraudulent activity. Speaking at the Securities Enforcement Forum West 2020 conference, SEC Enforcement Division CEO Steven Peikin said that the SEC is drawing on experience gained during previous emergencies, including the financial crisis in 2007-08 and the terror attacked on September 11, 2001, to combat COVID-19 related scams.
Convenience store chain Wawa has agreed to pay $21.6 million to settle a 2018 class-action lawsuit regarding the company’s employee stock option plan (“ESOP”). The settlement is still pending court approval. Wawa previously paid $25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit in 2016 that involved similar allegations relating to Wawa’s ESOP.
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A Kentucky advisor, Mark Lamkin, has filed a lawsuit against LPL Financial, claiming the independent broker-dealer orchestrated a corporate raid that resulted in the loss of his firm’s entire book of managed assets.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has announced plans to raise fees for its approximately 3,300 broker-dealer member firms. According to AdvisorHub, the self-regulator faces soaring costs, as detailed in its annual report published at the end of June.
Raymond James recently settled a case with Oregon's Division of Financial Regulation (“DFR”), agreeing to pay nearly $200,000 over allegations of charging excessive commissions to retail investors.
