Michael J. Breton of Massachusetts was banned from the securities industry by the SEC according to a recent InvestmentNews report. According to the report, Mr. Breton cost his clients $1.3 million by “cherry-picking” trades – i.e., placing trades through one central account then allocating the profitable trades to himself and…
BlackRock has been charged by the SEC with removing whistleblower incentives in their separation agreements with employees, per the SEC. According to the Commission, BlackRock’s charges stemmed from allegations that the company forced employees to waive their ability to obtain whistleblower awards. Provisions such as those in Dodd-Frank provide for…
As reported recently, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has commenced an investigation into the cross-selling activities of several broker dealers in the wake of the Wells Fargo fallout. FINRA’s objective has reportedly been to determine just how much cross selling is taking place (including promotion of products such as credit…
Morgan Stanley broker Armando Fernandez has been suspended by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) for 20 business days, according to publicly available FINRA records. Per a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent filed with FINRA, Mr. Fernandez was accused of exercising discretion in a customer account without prior written…
Brokers beware; FINRA is watching your firm, and you. Becoming embroiled in a regulatory inquiry or investigation can become a major and costly headache and impediment to registered representatives’ business. In January 2016, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) released its annual list of priorities, showing what sorts of sweeps…
The sad truth is that the Government loves the easy kill. It is often easier for regulators to extract settlements and punishments against smaller market participants, including brokers, traders and analysts, than the giant wire houses, because large companies can match the resources of the Government. The Securities and Exchange…
Recently, FINRA issued the 11th Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter that addresses issues in the financial industry, if left unaddressed could adversely effect market integrity and investors. In 2016 their key points of emphasis have been identified as (1) culture, conflicts of interest and ethics; (2) supervision, risk management and…
Per Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) announcement this week, a former registered representative of Caldwell International Securities Corp., Richard Adams aka Rasheed Aree Adams, has been barred permanently from the securities industry for churning customer accounts, other securities violations, and failure to report many unsatisfied judgments and liens on his…
FINRA has announced that it has fined Aegis Capital Corp. $950,000 for sales of unregistered penny stocks and anti-money laundering violations. According to FINRA, this fine was also related to supervisory failures within the firm. The firm was not the only one that FINRA appears to have come down hard…
“My broker dealer wants me to meet with its lawyers.” This is the start of a FINRA registered representative’s worst nightmare. Your heart is pounding and your head starts to race. “Why me?” “What do they want to know?” “What could I have done?” “Are they going to ask me…