Trading Suspensions — The Causes and Effects
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently released an investor bulletin to educate investors about trading suspensions…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently released an investor bulletin to educate investors about trading suspensions…
Cybersecurity and information security protocols have become industry-wide priorities, both to the regulatory bodies that oversee our business practices and to the customers who trust that firms’ policies and procedures are up-to-date and robust. This same principle extends also…
Pay-to-play violations have the potential to affect a firm’s reputation and typically in a “two-year timeout from providing compensatory advisory services directly to a government client.” Contributions of any kind, which include campaign contributions to those seeking elected office,…
The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) of 1970 requires U.S. financial institutions to cooperate with the U.S. government to report cases of suspected fraud, money laundering, and a range of other suspicious transactions not involving the outright misappropriation or misuse…
A recent Wells Fargo Memo raised questions for some of the firm’s brokers about the firm’s commitment to the Protocol for Broker Recruiting (“Broker Protocol”). The Broker Protocol found itself in the news again earlier this year when major…
Intentional and unintentional conflicts of interest are nothing new in the world of finance, but a recent instance of alleged fraud serves to underscore how damaging these cases can ultimately. In this particular case, Mario Hinojosa and his wholly-owned…
Proper disclosure of the costs of investing, including disclosure of all fees and their potential effects on the value of investments, is critical for all firms. However, despite a focus, for years now, on this issue by the SEC, FINRA…
When the SEC released its list of exam priorities for 2018, no one was surprised to learn that one of last year’s themes concerning the protection of retail investors (and by extension, aging investors) continues into 2018. To quote the…
Michelle L. Jacko wrote the article titled Securities Law Issues Involving Crowdfunding Transactions which was published in the National Society of Compliance Professionals (NSCP) Currents’ March, 2018 issue. … Read More
Early in October, at the National Association of Municipal Advisors Conference, two attorneys with the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) told the municipal advisors in attendance that many need to work on improving compliance procedures. To ensure…