The SIPA

Now that the NAC election is over, and the next big election is on the horizon, the Board of Governors, it is probably time to discuss the FINRA election process

he question is: are they worth it? I think we have to define what worth it means. Is it a monetary value? A sales opportunity? An educational value? A networking value? Is it a golf outing or a couple of days away from the office, spouse and kids? The answer is that it is probably, to some extent, all of those things. Obviously the further away from your home the conference is the less of a monetary value it is. But most conferences that have two a year alternate between the east coast and the west coast. How much can you learn if you go to more than one a year? The answer to that depends on how many years you have been in the business. But even the most experienced or jaded of our flock can pick up one nugget of information that might help them through the next exam, make their jobs a little easier or help them with the corporate powers that be. Is that worth it? I personally believe it is.

“The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has fined Citigroup Global Markets, UBS Securities and Deutsche Bank Securities a total of $425,000 — and ordered the firms to make payments to customers that could total $420,000 — in connection with the firms' failure to adequately supervise communications with their customers in the initial public offering (IPO) of Vonage, LLC in May 2006.

The marketing of the new FINRA was also very strategic for all firms. What used to be an ‘Association’ of brokers is now a ‘Regulatory Authority’. What used to be a ‘Notice to Members’ is now a ‘Regulatory Alert’. All mention of membership or ‘Self” regulation has disappeared. The only way we as small firms can make our problems heard and our needs known is through those we choose to elect as our representatives to the many FINRA arms: the District Committees, the SFAB, the NAC, and the Board of Governors, as well as the trade organizations that we choose to align with.

States are desperate for revenues. Now some are mulling the possibility of going after sales taxes for business conducted for clients within those states, adding yet another layer of fiscal burden for Broker Dealers and individual advisors registered in those states. David Sobel covers this developing story. The current budget crisis has hit many states [...]