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Finra abandons effort to become RIA regulator

Finra chairman and CEO Richard G. Ketchum said the regulator is no longer interested in expanding its oversight to financial advisers.  Mr. Ketchum told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, “We are not pursuing it at the present time.” “We don’t perceive any likelihood that it would be successful,” Mr. Ketchum told the WSJ, referring to […]

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Finra files complaint against two ex-MetLife advisors

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has filed a regulatory complaint against two former MetLife Securities Inc. brokers for allegedly engaging in a seven-year scheme to inflate commissions by encouraging customers to switch $21 million in annuities, Reuters reports. According to the FINRA complaint, Christopher Birli and Patrick Chapin, who were both employees of MetLife in Williamsville, […]

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FINRA fines LPL Financial $950,000 for alternative investment supervisory failures

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it has fined LPL Financial LLC $950,000 for supervisory deficiencies related to the sales of alternative investment products, including non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), oil and gas partnerships, business development companies (BDCs), hedge funds, managed futures and other illiquid pass-through investments. As part of the sanction, […]

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SEC stops pyramid scheme targeting Asian and Latino communities

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges and asset freezes against the operators of a worldwide pyramid scheme targeting Asian and Latino communities in the U.S. and abroad.  The SEC alleges that three entities collectively operating under the business names WCM and WCM777 are posing as multi-level marketing companies in the business of selling […]

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Former Morgan Stanley and Oppenheimer broker charged with insider trading

Vladimir Eydelman, the former Morgan Stanley and Oppenheimer Holdings broker arrested on insider trading charges last week, could expose some former clients and the firms to regulatory and legal actions, lawyers and securities industry veterans said. Eydelman, who was charged with fraud on March 19 by the SEC and the Justice Department, allegedly made more than […]

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