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Ladenburg not dependent on ex-chairman’s capital for growth, CEO says

16:01 02 October in In the News by rafferty

October 1, 2018 By Tobias Salinger, Financial Planning The SEC charges against Ladenburg Thalmann’s primary shareholder will not affect access to capital for its 4,300-advisor independent broker-dealer network, CEO Dick Lampen says. Phillip Frost retired from the Miami-based firm’s board on Sept. 20, two weeks after the SEC accused him of involvement with a $27 million pump-and-dump scheme. In addition to the network of five IBDs, Ladenburg’s subsidiaries also include its 139-year old investment bank, an asset management unit, an insurance brokerage and a trust division. The company’s various entities hold $250 million in cash with a book value above $390 million, Lampen noted in a statement. Ladenburg is “very pleased about how well-positioned our company is today for continued industry leadership,” he said, noting it also has $600 million “in permanent capital and long-term...

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FINRA’s New Competency Exams a ‘Significant’ Event for Some BDs

18:43 27 September in In the News by rafferty

September 27, 2018 By Melanie Waddell, Washington Watch, October issue of Investment Advisor Magazine Broker-dealers have been flooding the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority with questions about the restructuring of the self-regulator’s competency exam program, which takes effect Oct. 1. FINRA released in mid-September FAQ guidance on its qualification and registration requirements as set forth in Rules 1210 through 1240. The broker-dealer regulator is creating a Securities Industry Essentials (SIE or Essentials) exam and revising the rep-level exams. FINRA announced last July that the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the rule change, intended to streamline competency exams to, in part, facilitate opportunities for professionals seeking to enter or re-enter the securities industry. Robert Cook, FINRA’s president and CEO, said last year that the new exam approach “would give individuals seeking to enter the securities industry the opportunity...

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Wells Fargo Hits More Bumps

18:23 27 September in In the News by rafferty

By Janet Levaux, Investment Advisor Magazine Excerpted from Janet Levaux's Broker-Dealer Beat feature in the October issue of Investment Advisor magazine. As departures continue at Wells Fargo Advisors in the wake of scandals at its parent company and within its own operations, the unit is reworking some of the leadership at its independent advisor channel — WFA Financial Network, or FiNet. FiNet recently named Tim Boostrom — the former head of national recruiting for the indie channel — as the regional head of FiNet’s Southeast operations. Joe Gianino, who led FiNet’s business development group for nearly five years, was tapped as regional head of the Great Lakes. According to Wells Fargo, the ex-head of FiNet in the Southeast — Charles Cornett — left for another firm. But the former Great Lakes manager — Jason McLaughlin —...

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Frost Out as Ladenburg Chairman

19:09 22 September in In the News by rafferty

September 21, 2018 By Janet Levaux,  ThinkAdvisor He steps down in the wake of fraud charges at another firm he leads. Ladenburg Thalmann, which owns the Securities America and four other independent broker-dealers, says Dr. Phillip Frost has resigned as chairman. His replacement is President and CEO Richard Lampen. Earlier this month, regulators filed fraud charges against Frost, a billionaire investor who is chairman and CEO of Opko Health, and others. According to the SEC complaint: “In every scheme, [investor Barry] Honig, and some combination of [four other investors] and Frost, either explicitly or tacitly agreed to buy, hold or sell their shares in coordination with one another, knowing that a pump and dump was in the offing that would allow them all to profit handsomely.” But at least one IBD recruiter sees the fallout...