JPMorgan Chase was recently fined $200 million for allowing employees to use their personal devices to utilize WhatsApp and other social platforms to communicate about company business and sensitive business matters. The SEC found the messages included a wide array of content, including investment strategies, client meeting and market observations. The SEC indicted that the…
Read More
FINRA has released its 2022 Report on Examination & Risk Monitoring which included new risks to monitor this year. The list includes several categories related to 2021’s meme-stock short-squeeze and its continuing fallout. Included in the report for the first time this year include: Muni Shorts & Fails, Trusted Contacts, Crowdfunding and Portals, and Margin…
Read More
FINRA recently announced the results of its targeted examination of Unit Investment Trust (UIT) early rollovers. The investigation resulted in settlement with six member firms, totaling $16.8 million in restitution for approximately 10,000 investors. Following its investigation into the six firms, FINRA concluded that each firm failed to reasonably supervise early rollovers of UIT’s, which…
Read More
After a dramatic boom in options trading this past year, FINRA plans to increase rules governing these risky trades. FINRA plans to solicit opinions on options rules from the public in the coming weeks. “We share the concerns raised by the SEC and others that retail investors may be opening accounts to trade options and…
Read More
FINRA Board of Governors met on September 23-24, 2021 to approve new maintaining qualifications fees and to reaffirm FINRA’s Financial Guiding Principles. The Board approved a proposal to establish a $100 annual fee for individuals who chose to complete continuing education (CE) to remain qualified to reregister with FINRA following the termination of the individual’s…
Read More
FINRA has adopted new rules specifically tailored towards firms with a significant history of misconduct. The new rules, which become effective on January 1, 2022, allow FINRA to impose new obligations on broker-dealers with significantly higher levels of risk-related disclosures than other similarly sized peers. The new rules would also apply to firms with a…
Read More
In light of the fact that many member firms are increasingly using third-party vendors to perform a variety of core business functions, FINRA recently published Regulatory Notice 21-29, “FINRA Reminds Firms of their Supervisory Obligations Related to Outsourcing to Third-Party Vendors.” Regulatory Notice 21-29 reminds member firms of their obligation to establish and maintain a supervisory…
Read More
FINRA recently published Regulatory Notice 21-26, “FINRA Amends Rules 5122 and 5123 Filing Requirements to Include Retail Communications That Promote or Recommend Private Placements.” The notice amends FINRA Rules 5122 and 5123 to require additional filing requirements by member firms as it relates to the sale of private placement offerings. Both FINRA Rules 5122 (Private…
Read More
FINRA, SEC, and NASAA recently announced a new presentation intended to assist securities firms in detecting, preventing, and reporting financial exploitation of seniors pursuant to the Senior Safe Act, Section 303 of the “Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act,” which was signed into law on May 24, 2018, as well as the state…
Read More
In March of 2020, FINRA announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it had administratively postponed all in-person arbitration and mediation proceedings. Subsequent announcements extended those adjournments through July 3, 2021. In mid-May, 2021, FINRA announced that 62 hearing locations would be open for in-person hearings starting July 5, 2021, and recently, FINRA stated that…
Read More
Our locations in Birmingham and Pensacola are conveniently located for clients in the Southeast.
Get In Touch