Articles Posted in FINRA

There’s a decided increase in the number of broker complaints that are being expunged from FINRA’s BrokerCheck records. In 2009 state regulators received 110 requests to have disclosure events (which include details of customer complaints, regulatory actions, settlements, bankruptcies, liens, criminal histories, changes of employment) removed from public view. In 2012 that number rose to…

(May 20) The U.S. Senate has opened a probe into the increasingly controversial business of buying up and re-packaging the income streams of pensioners. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will examine multiple aspects of the pension-buying business model. This is a follow-on to state investigations launched in the last few weeks…

Faced with proof that FINRA arbitration hearings have been secretly recorded at least three times, FINRA is making an official policy against the practice. These complaints came from the Securities Experts’ Roundtable Inc., a group of expert witnesses, who had their expert testimony leaked outside the hearing rooms. Of course we agree that recordings should…

(November 29) FINRA has formally proposed that broker-dealers and their employers reveal the terms of their compensation, which normally include bonuses and incentives. Industry reaction has, predictably, been loud and indignant. Regulators point out that Registered Investment Advisors are already under similar restrictions; that compensation and bonus structures for brokers can potentially lead to conflicts…

FINRA posted a tool for investors to calculate their risk for investment fraud. Answer a few simple questions on FINRA’s Risk Meter to find out if you share behaviors and characteristics that have been shown to make some investors more vulnerable to fraud. Click here to use the risk meter on the FINRA website: http://apps.finra.org/meters/1/riskmeter.aspx

Unethical brokers and financial advisors target those they feel are most vulnerable, and often times that is the elderly. Investors close to retirement or already retired are typically the most risk averse and require the most conservative portfolios because they have limited ability to make up for investment losses in the future. First and foremost,…

Unexpected economic events in recent years mean that even the most conservative investors might find themselves with less money than they planned to have at a certain stage of life. The temptation to try and recover financial losses quickly is intense. High returns are seductive and even the wise investor might find him/herself lured into…

David Lerner & Associates, Inc. (DLA), of Syosset, NY, is under investigation by FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. FINRA filed a complaint charging the firm with soliciting investors to purchase shares in Apple REIT Ten, a non-traded $2 billion Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) without conducting a reasonable investigation to determine whether it was…

Robert Banks, security attorney of Banks Law Office, chaired FINRA’s Arbitrator Training Task Force and played a key role in the development of the training materials. Becoming an arbitrator gets you involved in your community and empowers you to help citizens resolve disputes. As an arbitrator you will learn more about the industry and refine…

What Is FINRA Arbitration and Why Do I Have To Do It? When you open a brokerage account with a FINRA broker-dealer firm (which includes all stock brokerage firms), you sign a form contract called a New Account Form. It includes a paragraph, usually on the back, saying that you agree that if you ever…