Taps Former SEC Director of the Division of Trading and Markets
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced that its Board of Governors has concluded the CEO search, and appointed Robert W. Cook as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective the second half of 2016. Mr. Cook will succeed Richard G. Ketchum, who has served as Chairman and CEO since 2009. The Board intends to name a new Chairman in the coming months.
News Releases & Statements
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has fined Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. $2.25 million and ordered the firm to pay restitution of more than $716,000 to affected customers for selling leveraged, inverse and inverse-leveraged exchange-traded funds (non-traditional ETFs) to retail customers without reasonable supervision, and for recommending non-traditional ETFs that were not suitable.
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has censured and fined E*Trade Securities LLC $900,000 for failing to conduct an adequate review of the quality of execution of its customers’ orders and for supervisory deficiencies concerning the protection of customer order information.
Bonds Related to Charter School in Arizona and Two Assisted Living Facilities in Alabama
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has filed a complaint against Phoenix-based firm, Lawson Financial Corporation, Inc. (LFC), and Robert Lawson, the firm’s President and Chief Executive Officer, charging them with securities fraud in connection with the sale of millions of dollars of municipal revenue bonds to customers.
Former AML Compliance Officer Fined and Suspended
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has fined Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (RJA) and Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. (RJFS), a total of $17 million for widespread failures related to the firms’ anti-money laundering (AML) programs.
WASHINGTON — Starting on Monday, May 16, investors will be able to buy securities in early-stage companies through crowdfunding. Investors interested in taking this step should first take time to consider the risks that may be involved in investing in these small businesses, according to a new alert from FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has censured Stephens Inc., of Little Rock, Arkansas, and fined the firm $900,000 for inadequately supervising firm-wide internal "flash" emails sent by its research analysts to convey information about companies and industries the firm covered.
WASHINGTON — Financial fraudsters often attempt to evoke strong emotions in their victims to convince them to hand over money, and seniors may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of heightened emotions on decision making. With funding and research participation from the AARP Fraud Watch Network and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, psychologists at Stanford University found that inducing emotions in older adults increased their intention to buy falsely advertised items.
Largest FINRA Fine Relating to Variable Annuities
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has fined MetLife Securities, Inc. (MSI) $20 million and ordered it to pay $5 million to customers for making negligent material misrepresentations and omissions on variable annuity (VA) replacement applications for tens of thousands of customers. Each misrepresentation and omission made the replacement appear more beneficial to the customer, even though the recommended VAs were typically more expensive than customers' existing VAs.
New Equities Supervision Reports Are Designed to Help Firms Spot and Halt Potential Manipulation
WASHINGTON — The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today made available to member firms its first monthly cross-market equities supervision report cards, aimed at helping firms identify and halt spoofing and layering activity.