Blog
Merrill Mutual Fund Enforcement Lessons Learned
FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) announced on June 2, 2022 that it ordered Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., to pay 15.2 million in restitution and interest to thousands of customers who purchased Class C mutual fund shares when Class A shares were available at a substantially lower cost. [...]
ESG Investing
ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) products and financial services have become a popular word in the world of regulation. With the SEC's Risk Alert on The Division of Examinations’ Review of ESG Investing and the most recent 2022 SEC Examination Priorities Report, understanding key compliance considerations to protect your Firm [...]
Customer Complaint Report
The Customer Complaint Report is a quarterly report that displays trends in complaints reported to FINRA's Rule 4530 Application each quarter, pursuant to FINRA Rule 4530. When a customer complaint is submitted to FINRA, the submitter must identify the product and problem classification detailed in the complaint. The report allows [...]
Crowdfunding Enforcement Lessons Learned
FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) announced on May 4, 2022, that it fined two FINRA registered funding portals, a combined $1.75 million for failing to comply with securities laws and rules designed to protect investors in the crowdfunding space. These news releases are useful tools to look for trends in [...]
Customer Account Transfer
From time to time, customers may look to move their account to a new brokerage firm for a wide variety of reasons, such as better or wider variety of services or lower costs. It may also be that the customer has learned the broker is under investigation by regulators or [...]
Customer Complaints (FINRA Rule 4513)
FINRA Rule 4513 defines a "customer complaint" as any grievance by a customer or any person authorized to act on behalf of the customer involving the activities of the member or a person associated with the member in connection with the solicitation or execution of any transaction or the disposition [...]