Blog
FINRA Rule 4150: Assuming the Liabilities of Others
A broker-dealer, especially one that is not a member of the NYSE, may fail to recognize that FINRA Rule 4150(a) requires prior written notice to be given to FINRA whenever it guarantees, endorses, or assumes, directly or indirectly, the obligations or liabilities of another person (for example, an affiliated company). [...]
FINRA Rule 2273: Recruitment Practices
FINRA has long been concerned with practices used by broker-dealers and their newly registered representatives to convince clients to transfer accounts from the representative’s old firm as well as the fees that are sometimes associated with such transfers. To address these concerns, FINRA proposed Rule 2273 which is intended to [...]
SEC Impersonators
On June 27, 2016, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued an alert for investors to be careful with any communications seemingly sent from the SEC. Government impersonators are targeting victims of previous frauds. These impersonators are sending official-looking documents to investors, often claiming that they can help the investor [...]
Interim Restriction on Continuing Membership Application
The FINRA journey of changes in ownership and control for a FINRA member firm is one that can be difficult to traverse without a proper guide. The FINRA Continuation of Membership Application (“CMA”) process is covered under NASD Rule 1017. The rule provides that should a member firm wish to make [...]
FINRA Scrutiny of Variable Annuities
Recently, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) has made it clear that it is keeping a close eye on the variable annuity (VA) sector. The impetus for this scrutiny was the record setting fine related to variable annuities against MetLife Securities, Inc. MetLife was fined $25 million for negligent [...]
AML Requirements for Investment Advisers
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) has proposed rulemaking that would require registered investment advisers to establish anti-money laundering (“AML”) programs and to file suspicious activity reports (“SARs”). The new requirements, as proposed, may impose significant regulatory burden on certain investment advisers. In this blog post, we [...]