In the hectic world of financial services, registered representatives and investment adviser representatives are always looking to increase their assets under management. At what cost? Are there situations where you would be better off just saying no to accepting that one additional client?
In my many years of defending representatives and advisers from customer complaints,
Every time that I start a FINRA arbitration, I find myself having the same internal debate; did we pick the right person to serve as the arbitration chair. Unfortunately, you will not know the answer to that question until after your arbitration begins, or, more likely, after the award is issued. FINRA has proposed a
Over the years that I have defended broker-dealers and investment advisors on customer-initiated claims, I have seen many things that would make any compliance officer cringe. One spine tingling (not in the good way) type of conduct is when an advisor engages his/her client when the client makes an informal complaint, instead of routing the
If you thought the SEC and FINRA were serious about elder issues, welcome to the Alabama, Indiana and Vermont. Each has focused on elder abuse issues.
These states will have mandatory reporting to state officials in instances involving the disabled or those over 65 years of age. They will also allow advisors to cease disbursing
Anyone in a professional service business, like being a stock broker, have been faced with a client who decides to make a stupid decision. But the issue we all face is when that decision results in the client losing money; who is to be held accountable.
Fortunately, the law does not require you to stop
It was great speaking at the May 17 New York NSCP regional conference on risk issues facing firms where Ernie Badway and I discussed cyber-security, risk issues, regulatory matters, issues involving elder clients and ways compliance personnel can protect themselves. For those of you who could not make the conference, these topics are frequently discussed
Most people say that New Year resolutions are only as good as the paper on which they are written. Notwithstanding that ringing endorsement, I will give it a shot.
Here are some things that you should be resolved to doing in the New Year:
Now that I have your attention, there is a pretty tried and true method to avoiding customer complaints, especially in this volatile market. All too often, clients hide in their shelters when the market gets rough. The biggest mistake you can make is hiding in your own shelter.
The best way to avoid a customer
Not too long ago, I tried a case that had, among other issues, the improper use of the advisor’s personal email account. That improper use serves as a valuable lesson of what can go wrong when you deviate from using the firm approved email.
The client emailed complaints about the handling of the account to
For years, firms have been using wrap products to charge an annual fee based upon the value of assets under management regardless of the number of trades, as opposed to fees per trade. In other words, wrap accounts were an effective tool to avoid churning claims because the customer theoretically could trade daily and only