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In the News

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Is a Great FINRA Purge Coming?

15:28 29 August in In the News by rafferty

August 26, 2022 By Diana Britton, WealthManagement.com As firms scramble to stay off FINRA’s new 'leper list' of broker/dealers with histories of misconduct, some say smaller businesses and reps with only minor regulatory blemishes are being unduly tarnished. Until recently, registered reps with only a few disclosures on their records could easily find a home at a broker/dealer to hang their license. But those days may be coming to an end, due to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s Rule 4111, which went into effect Jan. 1, 2022. FINRA’s new rule requires broker/dealers that the regulator determines pose the greatest risk to investors to set aside funds in a dedicated account to meet future FINRA fines, including potential unpaid arbitration awards. Broker/dealers don’t want to end up on FINRA’s list, especially one that would be made public, so many are taking steps to avoid it, say recruiters and compliance...

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What Kind of Acquiror Will Advisor Group Be?

18:20 24 August in In the News by rafferty

August 23, 2022 By Diana Britton, WealthManagement.com The firm sees an opportunity for RIAs to leverage its platform capabilities, technology and scale to accelerate growth, CEO Jamie Price says Advisor Group, the network of independent broker/dealers, recently entered the M&A market for registered investment advisors for the first time, with the firm making a minority investment in Signature Estate & Investment Advisors, a Los Angeles-based hybrid RIA, alongside Reverence Capital Partners, the b/d network’s majority owner. Advisor Group CEO Jamie Price says this is the first of many strategic investments in growing RIAs the company plans to make in the coming years. The move is part of Advisor Group’s larger efforts to expand its relationships in the RIA channel. About a quarter of the assets on the firm’s advisory platform, after all, are with independent...

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Embattled brokerage argues SEC copied a FINRA case

14:43 19 August in In the News by rafferty

August 18, 2022 By Tobias Salinger, Financial Planning   Alpine Securities, a brokerage fighting expulsion from FINRA and pursuing legal cases against its last two CEOs, has a new skirmish: A separate SEC matter it says should concern the whole industry. Salt Lake City-based Alpine Securities has gotten mixed results in its lengthy and repeated run-ins with regulators. One affiliate under common ownership prevailed last year over FINRA when the SEC overturned a previous enforcement case. However, the brokerage also coughed up a civil penalty of $12 million because of a federal court's decision in another SEC case accusing the firm of anti-money laundering failures. And a different judge quickly tossed Alpine's lawsuit against FINRA last year alleging that hearings on Zoom violated its rights. Its current SEC and FINRA cases revolve around the company's conduct as a brokerage that clears trades of stock in smaller...