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FINRA released a report from independent counsel Lowenstein Sandler, concluding there was no agreement between Wells Fargo’s counsel and the regulator to exclude certain arbitrators. A law firm hired by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority found “no evidence†of a secret agreement between an attorney for Wells Fargo and the self-regulatory organization to exclude certain…

New Leader of Digital Communications Compliance Solutions Brings Tech, Financial Services and Risk Management Savvy as Regulators Create More Complexities Major changes appear to be happening at regtech firm Smarsh. A widely recognized provider of digital communications content compliance solutions to independent wealth management firms in both the RIA and IBD segments, Smarsh officially has a new…

FAs Learned the Hard Way About Saying No to Next Gen Clients – And Too Many Industry Experts Didn’t Help Fear and greed, when misdirected and misled, are two emotions that can drive the worst behaviors in humankind – And the wealth management space isn’t exempt from this fact. Take my favorite topic these days…

Last Year, I Sounded the Alarm: And All I Got Was ‘Crypto Bro’ Hate Mail  Like many compliance supervision professionals, I’ve frequently wished for a time machine – Preferably, a flying DeLorean, because you might as well travel in style.  Not for myself, mind you.  For the people I try to protect from financial, legal,…

Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Katie Porter are pressing the regulator after a Georgia judge called the fairness of its arbitration process into question. Two prominent congressional representatives want answers from FINRA CEO Robert Cook on the regulator’s response to a Georgia court decision overturning an arbitration award originally granted to Wells Fargo. Sen. Elizabeth…

Workflow Automation Attracts Advisors and Clients, Cuts Costs and Increases Efficiencies; Machine Learning and Data Capabilities Will Drive Further Innovation Among the latest Superbowl commercials was an advertisement for cryptocurrency exchange FTX, where Larry David stars as a recurring historical figure that rejects everything from the wheel to toilets and, of course, FTX.  It’s a lighthearted…

Small and mid-sized independent broker-dealer / RIA firms that have recently recovered from regulatory-related challenges can mobilize compliance to support new growth When large independent broker-dealer / RIA firms encounter a multi-year period of regulatory and legal difficulties, they will likely need to make some hard strategic decisions. And for small firms with less than…

If Your E&O Insurance Doesn’t Cover Crypto Investing Blow-Ups, Kiss Your Business Good-Bye in the Next Black Swan Event “Go to hell, you old dinosore [sic].  Check out REAL crypto experts on TikTok.” This is just one of a large number of surprisingly hostile messages I received from my last column for WSR, “The Crypto…

Efforts to Wrap Professional Asset Management Structures Around Crypto Currencies Disguise Enormous Risks to Financial Advisors If a client told you to put all of his or her long-term retirement assets into magic beans, at a moment when everybody has a “look what I grabbed from the giant’s castle†story – Would you? Crypto assets…

Venture capital-backed employee compliance software and solutions provider, ComplySci, reported a rise in concerns among compliance professionals across the financial services sector when it comes to cryptocurrency trading activities by their employees. The New York City-based regtech firm – which is backed by private equity firm K1 Investment Management as well as venture capital firms Edison Partners and Vista Equity Partners â€“…