September 23, 2016
InvestmentNews
Bruce Kelly
It’s no secret that small broker-dealers are struggling to keep their doors open as technology, compliance and legal costs continue to increase, especially as they prepare to put weighty new regulations such as the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule into place. Indeed, the decline of the broker-dealer industry continues. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory […]
September 1, 2016
Globe Newswire
The firm announces the filing of a FINRA arbitration and its continuing investigation of the sales practices of former Independent Financial Group broker Kenny Kim for his management of client accounts and unsuitable recommendations of private non-traded REITs, annuities, structured products, and C-share mutual funds. We are currently investigating whether all material risks of the […]
July 20, 2016
Financial Advisor
Dan Jamieson
Investor plaintiffs’ lawyers say the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule will give them some extra leverage in winning damages from arbitration panels—but they don’t expect a huge windfall. The DOL rule gives investors the right to file arbitrations or class-action claims for violations of the rule, giving rise to industry concerns about increased liability. Sure […]
July 19, 2016
Financial Advisor IQ
Murray Coleman
The securities industry’s self-funded watchdog is moving forward with a rule to bump up the number of arbitrators available to be selected for panels judging claims against brokers. In a filing to the SEC earlier this month, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority proposed to increase to 15 from 10 the number of “public” arbitrator candidates available […]
July 1, 2016
Financial Advisor
Dan Jamieson
Investor plaintiff lawyers are increasingly ditching industry arbitrators in favor of using all-public panels, a trend that is again raising questions about whether Finra has enough public arbitrators to meet demand. Since 2008, when Finra began a pilot program allowing investors to choose all-public arbitration panels, about half of eligible customers bringing cases have taken […]