William Webb

William Webb is a Bates Consulting and Testifying Expert and financial services executive and consultant based in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Webb has experience as an expert witness regarding compliance and supervision issues in securities arbitrations and disputes involving investment advisors, broker-dealers, and insurance-affiliated financial services firms. He provides hands-on BD and RIA advice for business formation, compliance and operations, sales and supervision issues, and the intricacies of offering financial services within an insurance-affiliated BD/RIA. Throughout his career, Mr. Webb has served as a key speaker at sales and compliance meetings, conventions, and territory meetings. He has high-level experience and has presented to the Audit and Risk Committee of CNO Financial, Inc. and to the full Board of Directors. 

Before joining Bates, Mr. Webb designed, implemented, and managed Bankers Life Securities (a BD) and Bankers Life Advisory Services (an RIA). That insurance-affiliated operation was built from scratch and grew in a 2-year span to more than $1,500,000,000 of customer assets, 28,000 customer accounts, and 560 registered representatives. Over the following 2 years, he built an advisory platform to $375,000,000 AUM, 2,800 customer accounts, and 220 investment advisory representatives.  Mr. Webb also held the title of Chief Supervisory Officer, Chief Financial Officer and negotiated settlements with customers.

Mr. Webb began his career in Chicago with the National Association of Securities Dealers as a compliance examiner. He then worked for Fuji Securities, also in Chicago, as a Regulatory Compliance Supervisor. In the early 1990s, Mr. Webb moved to Southern California to take on responsibilities as a Branch Chief for Broker-Dealer Examinations with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In that position, he worked on several high-profile cases, including the Orange County bankruptcy.

From 2001 to 2012, Mr. Webb was the Chief Financial Officer for Allstate Financial Services, where he built an operation with a sales force exceeding 10,000 registered representatives and annual revenue of $100,000,000.  Simultaneously, he was Treasurer for Allstate Financial Advisors, an RIA, and Treasurer for Allstate Distributors, LLC, a wholesale operation that marketed proprietary financial service products of Allstate Financial, specifically Variable Annuities and Variable Universal Life. 

During 2012 to 2014, Mr. Webb was a consultant and outsourced financial principal both independently and for Regulatory Compliance, LLC. He was the outsourced Financial Principal for 15 SEC broker-dealers and the Chief Compliance Officer for two firms. Mr. Webb performed branch audits, annual compliance assessments, and internal controls assessments, among others.  He was also the Chief Financial Officer of micro-cap entities Atacama Resources International, Inc. and Soellingen Advisory Group, Inc., both public reporting companies, where he was responsible for operations, financial operations and regulatory financial reporting, including 10Q and 10K preparation.  Mr. Webb has also served as Chief Compliance Officer for First Trust, a Unit Investment Trust distributor with over $8,000,000,000 of assets under management.