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Broker Protocol Update: Merrill Wants to Have it Both Ways

By Erwin J. Shustak, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Tuesday, July 31, 2018.

Following the abrupt exit of Morgan Stanley and UBS from the Protocol for Broker Recruiting at the end of last year, financial advisers at the remaining wire-houses that still are part of the Protocol - essentially Wells Fargo and Merrill Lynch - are wondering how long their firms will remain as Protocol members. [...] Read More

Brokers Fleeing Wells Fargo Head To Regional B-Ds

By Erwin J. Shustak, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Wednesday, July 11, 2018.

In prior blogs, we wrote about the increasing movement of brokers and investment advisors from the remaining “wirehouses” (Morgan Stanley; UBS; Wells Fargo; Merrill Lynch) to one of many independent platforms. [...] Read More

FINRA to Transform its CRD Platform

By Jonah A. Toleno, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Tuesday, July 3, 2018.

FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (formerly NASD), has announced it is transforming its online CRD (Central Registration Depository) platform. Those in financial services are familiar with Web CRD as FINRA’s central licensing and [...] Read More

Broker Protocol Update: Will Wells Fargo Stay or Go?

By George C. Miller, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Wednesday, June 27, 2018.

An internal memorandum Wells Fargo recently circulated to its 14,000+ advisors has called into question the firm’s ongoing commitment to The Broker Protocol. The memorandum reportedly lists a number of planned updates to the firm’s client privacy policies, including [...] Read More

What is the Effect of a FINRA Form U4 or U5 Disclosure?

By George C. Miller, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2018.

Representatives of broker-dealers, investment advisers and securities issuers must complete a Form U4 (titled “Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer”) to register with FINRA and the various states and other jurisdictions in which they do business. The Form U4 requires applicants to list, among other things [...] Read More

Regulators Pursue Enforcement Actions Against Woodbridge Sales Representatives

By George C. Miller, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Friday, June 8, 2018.

Last December, the Securities and Exchange Commission accused the Woodbridge Group of Companies and its founder, Robert Shapiro, of running a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme and allegedly bilking thousands of retail investors, including many senior citizens, out of their hard earned retirement funds. According to the SEC’s complaint, Woodbridge [...] Read More

Outside Business Activity Abuses High on FINRA’s Hit List

By Erwin J. Shustak, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Wednesday, June 6, 2018.

As a sign of just how serious FINRA considers failures by brokers to comply with their firm’s Outside Business Activity disclosure rules to be, consider this: Four of the 11 consent letters, by which a registered person agrees to a settlement with FINRA [...] Read More

Keys to Spotting Market “Bubbles”

By Erwin J. Shustak, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Friday, June 1, 2018.

Vikram Mansharamani, a lecturer at Harvard’s John Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, pointed to several “clues” that the economy is possibly ripe for a bubble crash. [...] Read More

Seniors Most Often Defrauded by Family and Friends

By Erwin J. Shustak, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Wednesday, May 30, 2018.

For a number of reasons, seniors are some of the most likely victims of financial and securities fraud. First, given their age and the fact that many senior lives alone, seniors tend to be more trusting than younger people. [...] Read More

Broker Alert - FINRA to Publicly Report Undisclosed Bankruptcies, Judgments and Liens on New U4’s

By Erwin J. Shustak, Esq. of Shustak Reynolds & Partners, P.C. posted on Thursday, May 24, 2018.

Beginning July 9, 2018, FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, will search public records to determine whether registered reps who move from one firm to another disclosed any prior bankruptcies, judgments or liens. [...] Read More