Navigate the complexities of financial advising with AdvisorLaw's Industry Insights. Our experts provide actionable analysis on critical areas impacting your practice, including the latest FINRA and SEC/state regulations for brokers, RIAs, and IARs, the nuances of dual registration, strategic insights into Mergers & Acquisitions, evolving enforcement trends, practical regulatory compliance strategies, and effective succession planning. Stay informed, compliant, and positioned for growth with AdvisorLaw's perspectives.
Will Your RIA Avoid Our Biggest 2022 SEC Deficiencies?
AdvisorLaw’s RIA services division has compiled a list of the most common SEC exam deficiencies we saw in 2022. The deficiencies below were found amid compliance documentation from RIA firms...
Read More
Florida Advisor Restores Perfect BrokerCheck Record
A 20-year industry veteran in Florida had a spotless public BrokerCheck record — until he was slapped with a customer dispute disclosure in 2019. The dispute alleged a breach of...
Read More
When should I start planning to sell my advisory practice or RIA?
When you’re looking to sell your advisory firm or RIA, there are many factors at play that could impact how seamless and profitable the transaction will be. This week on “Ask...
Read More
FINRA Disputes & U5 Terminations FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement
Avoid FINRA Sanctions: A Guide to Form U4 Disclosures for Financial Advisors
Being an investment advisor comes with a lot of responsibility. Not only do you have to keep up with the latest market trends and changes, but you also need to...
Read More
Illinois Advisor Erases 2001 Misdemeanor Criminal Disclosure
An Illinois advisor spent his first 15 years in the industry with a criminal disclosure on his record that had resulted from an incident that occurred while he was in...
Read More
Navigating An Audit From The SEC
More Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) firms are being audited than ever before. Earlier this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a report from the Inspector General's Office...
Read More
Arbitration Panel Rewards Expungement of 2 Disputes From 2003
A New Jersey Advisor approaching 35 years in the industry had two customer disputes that had plagued his records for nearly two decades. He decided to take the opportunity to...
Read More
Florida Advisor Removes Termination Disclosures From Records
An advisor in Florida had a termination disclosure on his CRD, IARD, BrokerCheck, and IAPD profiles, as well as an accompanying internal review disclosure on his CRD and IARD records....
Read More
FINRA Disputes & U5 Terminations FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement
Do BrokerCheck disclosures ever fall off automatically?
Having a clean public record in the financial services industry is crucial. This week we’re talking with Harris Freedman, J.D. to discuss the types of disclosures that will naturally fall...
Read More
Weaponized Form U5
Any time a rep exists at a firm, whether the reason involves an involuntary discharge, a voluntary resignation, or a rep being permitted to resign, firms and broker-dealers are required...
Read More
IARs Required to Complete Continuing Education Program
At AdvisorLaw, we do our best to keep our clients informed of regulatory changes. Launching our continuing education (CE) offerings is an example of our commitment to helping you stay...
Read More
FINRA’s Expungement Reform Takes a Turn for the Worse
In August, AdvisorLaw made a public comment concerning FINRA's latest effort to undermine the expungement procedure. We found that FINRA’s proposed rule change not only denies fundamental rights to financial...
Read More
Memphis Advisor Clears Disclosures From BrokerCheck and CRD
A Tennessee advisor who began his career in 2000 had acquired three customer disputes between 2005 and 2016. The first was closed with no action, and the second was denied....
Read More
Do you have a dedicated chief compliance officer?
Did you know that only 36% of RIA firms have a dedicated chief compliance officer (CCO)? It’s no wonder that compliance teams across the country are being stretched so thin....
Read More
FINRA Disputes & U5 Terminations FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement
If I’ve been terminated, how long will it be before a Form U5 is filed?
"Ask An AdvisorLaw Expert" is a video series where we ask some of our most esteemed colleagues questions commonly asked by financial advisors. This week, we're focusing on the topic,...
Read More
Certified Financial Planners Face Tough Enforcement Under Sporkin
In a recent Q&A with RIAIntel, detection, investigation, and prosecution were top-of-mind for Tom Sporkin, CFP® Board Managing Director of Enforcement. Sporkin says the Board has been “doing absolutely everything...
Read More
New York Advisor Removes Dispute From 2000 Seeking $1.25M
As he approached half a century of service in the financial services industry, a New York advisor hired AdvisorLaw to seek expungement of a 23-year-old customer dispute. The client had...
Read More
RIAs Must Be In Full Compliance With SEC’s Marketing Rule
Registered investment advisers (RIAs) regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are required to fully comply with the SEC’s new marketing and advertising rule by November 4th, 2022. With...
Read More
Dallas Advisor Wins Expungement Defamatory Termination
About halfway through a near-40-year career in the industry, a Texas-based advisor was hit with a Form U5 termination disclosure alleging that he had reallocated a customer’s subaccounts without authorization....
Read More
SEC Prepares for Cybersecurity Crackdown
SEC proposed updates to its cybersecurity rule, seeking to ramp up the enforcement of cyber-related crimes. Now, the SEC will require all registered RIAs to implement a dedicated cyber-protection program...
Read More