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.
Reaching $250 Million In AUM Unlocks More Options For Advisors
When an advisor’s assets under management hit $250 million, their options expand from those that were available to them when their AUM fell below that threshold. Along with more options,...
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Advisor Granted Expungement Of Disclosures Over Ten Years Old
For the past 11 years, an advisor in Ohio had two publicly-disclosed customer disputes — one which had been tainting his records for all but 2 of his 17 years...
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FINRA Disputes & U5 Terminations FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement
Form U5 Termination Events
Any time a rep leaves a firm, regardless of the reason, the firm is required to file a Form U5 describing the circumstances under which the rep departed, within 30...
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A 1991 Form U5 Termination Disclosure Removed From Record
A 1991 Form U5 termination disclosure had been plaguing the records of an advisor with over 30 years of dedication to the financial services industry. He sought the help of...
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FINRA Disputes & U5 Terminations FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement IRS Tax Liens & Disclosures
What is FINRA Rule 1017(a)(7)?
The effects and consequences of disclosures on advisors’ records have been growing larger and more severe over the past several years. With the implementation of the requirement to provide a...
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Advisor Achieves Expungement Of Settled Customer Dispute
A Boston-based, veteran advisor who has been in the industry for more than 45 years had had one customer dispute on his record since the early 1990s. Ready to clear...
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P.R. Bond Disputes Cleared From BrokerCheck
Even when advisors are genuinely invested in their customers’ interests and attentive to their customer’s needs, events that are fully outside of advisors’ control can leave them with complaints, disclosures,...
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FINRA Disputes & U5 Terminations FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement
Restricted Expungement Processes Are On The Horizon
There are thousands of financial advisors across the US who have had their public image tarnished by a meritless or completely false disclosure that was published on their CRD, BrokerCheck,...
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Form U5 Termination Expunged From Veteran Advisor’s Records
A New Jersey-based advisor with nearly 30 years of experience in the financial services industry sought expungement of a 7-year-old Form U5 termination disclosure from his records. He hired AdvisorLaw...
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Form CRS: It’s Mandatory!
The SEC has been cracking down on broker-dealers and RIA firms that fail to file and deliver their Regulation Best Interest disclosure forms, including Client Relationship Summaries, or Forms CRS,...
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Is there a way to remove IRS tax lien disclosures from BrokerCheck?
Is there a way to remove IRS tax lien disclosures from BrokerCheck? Tax debt disclosures subject advisors to higher scrutiny and threaten job security. That’s why this week’s Ask An...
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Advisor Expunges Two, Nearly $1 Million-Settled Disputes
For nearly a decade, an advisor had two customer disputes tainting his otherwise-pristine BrokerCheck profile and CRD report. Lodged two months apart, both disputes pertained to customers who owned the...
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Puerto Rico Advisor Clears 14 P.R. Bond-Related Claims
Each year since 2015, a San Juan-based advisor’s BrokerCheck profile had shown more and more customer disputes — all having arisen from investors who had purchased Puerto Rico bonds. Of...
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FINRA Disputes & U5 Terminations FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement
Rule 4111: FINRA Punishes Advisors with Checkered Past
On September 28, FINRA adopted its previously proposed Rule 4111 — Restricted Firm Obligations. The Rule applies to broker-dealers with a history of misconduct or those with a concentration of...
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FINRA Disputes & U5 Terminations FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement IRS Tax Liens & Disclosures Webinar
Advisors Protecting Their Greatest Asset: How to Avoid and Minimize Disclosures On Your Forms U4/U5
You've worked hard and made many sacrifices to build a successful advisory business. But arguably, your greatest asset is your reputation. Any negative disclosures on your public records (BrokerCheck, the...
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Unsuitability & Misrepresentation Cleared From Broker’s Record
An advisor who has been in the industry for nearly three decades sought to expunge the one customer dispute plaguing his records through FINRA Arbitration. The advisor sought to expunge...
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FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement Mergers & Acquisitions Recruiting RIA Setup & Registration Starting your own RIA
How does AdvisorLaw help recruiters?
Let’s say you were just approached by a lead advisor with a team who’s seeking counsel for the team’s next big move — they’re excited to discuss recruiting options with...
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FINRA Disputes & U5 Terminations FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement
What Constitutes a Breach of Fiduciary Duty — Four Elements
When one party is entrusted with the care of funds or property and must act on behalf of another, a fiduciary duty is created. As the former party is obligated...
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Advisor’s Termination & Internal Investigation Removed
A Portland-based advisor with a Form U5 termination disclosure from more than two decades earlier sought FINRA expungement of the mark from his CRD and BrokerCheck records. Eighteen months into...
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FINRA’s “Willful” Non-Disclosure of Tax Liens
Among the other disclosures required by Form U4, reps are required to disclose information dating back ten years that pertains to bankruptcies, conflicts with creditors, and other financial issues. Disclosure...
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