Industry Insights

Industry Insights

Industry Insights

Industry Insights


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.

VUL-Related Complaint Expunged After A Decade Of Disclosure
Case Results & Wins

VUL-Related Complaint Expunged After A Decade Of Disclosure

A financial industry veteran based in Atlanta wanted to remove a customer complaint regarding a variable universal life (VUL) insurance policy that the customer had kept in place for nearly...
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Financial Advisor Succession Planning: Your Complete Guide to a Smooth Exit
Mergers & Acquisitions Succession Planning

Financial Advisor Succession Planning: Your Complete Guide to a Smooth Exit

A recent study indicated that less than one-third of advisors age 55 and older have not identified a successor for their practice, and more than half of advisors over age...
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Advisor Restores Record After Alleged Firm Violation
Case Results & Wins

Advisor Restores Record After Alleged Firm Violation

A financial advisor from the west coast was terminated for an alleged violation of a firm policy. During her tenure with the firm, she was never disciplined and consistently received...
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Hybrid Broker Expunges 2 Customer Disputes From BrokerCheck
Case Results & Wins

Hybrid Broker Expunges 2 Customer Disputes From BrokerCheck

A financial advisor from New Jersey, who has been in the industry for over two decades, sought to clean up two false customer disputes on his BrokerCheck profile and CRD...
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Compliance Solutions For Small RIAs
FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement RIA Compliance

Compliance Solutions For Small RIAs

Most RIAs start out as an exercise in independence — advisors want less bureaucracy, more payout, and better choices for their clients. Starting one’s own RIA becomes the solution, but...
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FINRA Limits Advisors’ Right to Arbitration & Disclosure Expungement
FINRA Disputes & U5 Terminations FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement

FINRA Limits Advisors’ Right to Arbitration & Disclosure Expungement

FINRA continues to limit advisors’ right to be heard regarding their role in customer disclosures published to their CRD and BrokerCheck records. Broker-dealers are required to report any customer dispute to...
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Repeat Client Expunges Two Remaining Complaints
Case Results & Wins

Repeat Client Expunges Two Remaining Complaints

Recently, AdvisorLaw successfully helped a local securities broker, who has been in the business since the 1980s, expunge two customer disputes. Already sold on the value of cleaning up his...
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FINRA Penalizes Advisors Who Fail To Disclose IRS Tax Liens
FINRA Expungement & Arbitration IRS Tax Liens & Disclosures

FINRA Penalizes Advisors Who Fail To Disclose IRS Tax Liens

Now that the IRS and state taxing authorities no longer report tax liens to the credit agencies, advisors may believe that they’re off the hook. But just because tax debt...
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Financial Advisor Seeks to Expunge Six Customer Complaints Over 30 Years
Case Results & Wins

Financial Advisor Seeks to Expunge Six Customer Complaints Over 30 Years

A financial advisor who began at Edward Jones nearly 30 years ago had picked up six customer complaints throughout his career. Like many disputes made by investors, all six of...
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Advisor Seeks Expungement of 30-Year-Old Complaint
Case Results & Wins

Advisor Seeks Expungement of 30-Year-Old Complaint

A financial advisor who had been in the industry for over 37 years sought expungement of a customer complaint. The customer had alleged that the financial advisor placed in an...
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Investment Advisor Seeks Expungement of Form U5 Disclosure
Case Results & Wins

Investment Advisor Seeks Expungement of Form U5 Disclosure

While working at an RIA in the 1990s, an advisor received a Form U5 termination disclosure from FINRA due to a disagreement with his partners. Today, this 30-year veteran investment...
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How to Tackle FINRA’s Rule 8210
FINRA | Brokers FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement

How to Tackle FINRA’s Rule 8210

Received a confusing FINRA 8210 request? Don't navigate it alone! Learn why relying solely on your broker-dealer isn't the best strategy and discover the importance of independent legal counsel for...
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Customer Disputes Reporting & Options For Seeking Expungement
FINRA Disputes & U5 Terminations FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement

Customer Disputes Reporting & Options For Seeking Expungement

When a customer makes a complaint to a FINRA-registered firm or representative, FINRA rules dictate that the complaint be recorded in its Central Registration Depository (CRD) system as a customer...
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25-Year Financial Professional Expunges Settled Dispute
Case Results & Wins

25-Year Financial Professional Expunges Settled Dispute

A financial services professional who had been in the business for nearly 25 years had a settled customer dispute on his record that was meritless. Six full years after the...
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Why you should fight your Form U5 termination
FINRA Disputes & U5 Terminations FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement

Why you should fight your Form U5 termination

With the current hyper-vigilant compliance culture permeating FINRA member firms, the odds of being terminated and having a blemish on your U5 are ever-increasing. The best move you can make...
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Selling Your Wealth Management Firm: A Strategic Guide to a Maximum-Value Exit
Mergers & Acquisitions Selling RIA Succession Planning Valuations

Selling Your Wealth Management Firm: A Strategic Guide to a Maximum-Value Exit

Would you put a for sale sign in front of your house prior to having an idea of what you could get for it, without making improvements to enhance value...
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Compliance Remains Biggest Concern for Registered Investment Advisors
FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement RIA Compliance

Compliance Remains Biggest Concern for Registered Investment Advisors

You've probably noticed that the Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) channel is experiencing record-breaking growth. Like you, more and more advisors are realizing that RIAs offer the best of both worlds: happier...
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Texas Advisor Seeks to Expunge 5 Disputes From BrokerCheck
Case Results & Wins

Texas Advisor Seeks to Expunge 5 Disputes From BrokerCheck

A financial advisor from Texas qualified to make Barron’s Top 100 Financial Advisors list by all metrics, other than the five meritless customer complaints that dotted his record. To make...
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How Will FINRA Rule 4111 Affect Financial Advisors?
FINRA Disputes & U5 Terminations FINRA Expungement & Arbitration FINRA, SEC, State & CFP Board Enforcement

How Will FINRA Rule 4111 Affect Financial Advisors?

Have you ever heard of Rule 4111? Unless you’re an officer at your firm, it’s unlikely that you have. As AdvisorLaw exclusively represents individual financial advisors, we typically have little...
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Advisor Expunges Form U5 Termination Disclosure From The CRD
Case Results & Wins

Advisor Expunges Form U5 Termination Disclosure From The CRD

A financial advisor out of Texas had excelled at a firm for nearly ten years. Although he’d received many promotions and was the leader in branch sales revenue, the firm...
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