In April, the NASD instituted a rule meant to prevent stockbrokers from, in effect, buying their way out of client complaints and a dinged Form U4 by settling, out-of-court, with their clients for money. But already stockbrokers (with the help of...
MFS Investment Management and Morgan Stanley's announcements in March that they will no longer pay soft dollars to brokerages for third-party research might be the snowflake that causes an avalanche. Many observers believe the announcements signal...
The long parade of securities scandals has convinced broker/dealers to apply some prophylactic measures to their fee-based accounts. Registered reps at the major b/ds say their managements have been heavily scrutinizing whether certain accounts...
Much of the noise in the broker/dealer industry lately is coming from the halls of Washington rather than from the trading desks all over the country. Ask an average registered rep what the most time-consuming portion of his day is, and more often...
Martha Stewart apparently is not alone in her creative approach to document management. During a recent NASD examination, a broker/dealer could not locate originals of every new account form requested by the regulator, so it set about preparing...
Q: I work for three credit unions that offer investment services to members. I replaced a man who had been here for years and was fired for selling away. He had signed a contract with a poorly rated (Best B-/S&P BB) annuity company, was holding...