Regulatory

FINRA Comes Up Short In Examination By Government Accountability Office

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There’s more action on the FINRA-SRO front as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) proceeds with its examination of the organization as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act. The GAO examination has nothing to do with the Bachus-McCarthy bill introduced in April but its timing is indeed fortuitous for those opposed to a FINRA SRO role.

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FINRA As SRO Battle Heats Up As Industry Participants Form Lobbying Group

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The regulatory fight is heating up against the designation of FINRA as the industry’s self-regulatory organization (SRO). A group of financial services firms including Schwab Advisor Services will meet with lawmakers in Washington, DC on June 7 to argue against the bill introduced by House Financial Services Committee chair Spencer Bachus (R – Alabama) in April.

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Controversy About Facebook's IPO Has Little To Do With Its Effectiveness As A Marketing Tool

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Despite the controversy about the Facebook IPO, more and more people are spending more and more time on the site. The average amount of time spent daily is 55 minutes. Investors have begun to trust the advice of their peers instead of the marketing efforts of financial institutions. With confidentiality and compliance factors ever on advisors’ minds, there is a continual search for the best way to participate in the Facebook phenomenon while remaining true to industry and firm compliance guidelines.

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If You Get A Letter Of Inquiry From FINRA, The Best Action Is To Answer It

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FINRA plays a significant role in alerting the SEC to insider trading infractions. As an industry watchdog, the regulatory group gathers information on firms even beyond their broker-dealer scope to assess whether trading activity is suspicious. Particularly when unusual trading activity occurs, letters of inquiry will be sent to all firms involved.

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Benchmarking Target Date Funds Should Be An Easy Decision: Procedural Prudence

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Fiduciaries have a duty to monitor and evaluate their target date funds’ (TDF) performance, but what's the right benchmark?

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