Nine financial services firms have announced plans to start their own trading exchange called the “Members Exchange”. Among the founding banks and brokerages are UBS, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity Investments. [...]

On January 9, 2019, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) panel found a former Edward Jones broker liable for $24,873 in compensatory damages due to the broker’s breach of contract and restrictive covenant with the firm [...]

In late December 2018, FINRA barred former Morgan Stanley financial advisor Daniel T. Levine from associating with any FINRA member firm in any capacity by way of an Acceptance Waiver and Consent (AWC) settlement agreement.[...]

Both Protocol and Non-Protocol firms have continued their sue-first-ask-questions-later litigation strategy against departing advisors, and advisors should be on high alert even when they are making a Protocol transition. [...]

Robert Berry worked as a financial advisor for Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC from 1994 until 2014. From 2005 to 2014, he participated in the Wells Fargo Advisors Performance Award Contribution and Deferral Plan [...]

On December 5th, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) panel in New York city awarded a former Wells Fargo financial advisor, Christopher John Tisi, $750,000 in a claim against Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC for deferred compensation. [...]

For the past 15+ years, it was extremely common for firms to recruit high-producing financial advisors and teams from one firm to another through large, up-front and back-end bonuses, often totaling 300% or more of the advisor’s Trailling-12 production [...]

It has been almost a year since Morgan Stanley abruptly exited the Protocol for Broker Recruiting (“Protocol”), and in that time it has implemented an aggressive legal strategy against departing advisors. [...]

Earlier this month, the American Bar Association (ABA) issued its first-ever report on research conducted jointly by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession (the “Commission”), the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (“MCCA”), and the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. [...]

The economic outlook for Asia Pacific remains strong, and the region continues as the most dynamic of the global economy. However, the region faces risks from a global tightening of financial conditions and a shift toward protectionist policies, particularly by the U.S. and the Trump Administration, which has pursued a confrontational, bi-lateral approach to trading agreements with countries in the region. [...]

Wells Fargo’s wealth management unit continues to lose advisors to competitors following reports of a joint probe into the firm’s sales practices by the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission [...]

Almost every lawyer has seen if not signed off an agreement containing at the end of the document the words “approved as to form and content,” typically found in a settlement agreement.What legal impact does the attorney’s signature have when approving form and content?

Since the financial crisis of 2008, consumer advocates and the financial services industry both have advocated for a heightened standard of conduct for broker-dealers when dealing with retail investors. President Barack Obama's Department of Labor attempted this by promulgating its “fiduciary” rule, but, […]

It is every registered person’s nightmare. You receive a letter from a FINRA office notifying you that you are the subject of a FINRA investigation. […]

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. [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]