News & Events –

SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) has announced their exam priorities for the upcoming year. You can read the press release here.

In its second annual effort to highlight areas of compliance concern, FINRA published a 2018 Report on Examination Findings. The thorough report details selected observations and findings from broker-dealer firm exams that have “potential significance, frequency and impact on investors and the markets.” The primary areas of focus in this year’s report are suitability for retail customers, private placements, abuse of the authority a client gives to a registered representative, and fixed income mark-up disclosure. This article takes a closer look at these FINRA priorities and additional FINRA findings on compliance issues raised by this year’s examinations.

Investments in robo-offerings have grown, and the application and use of algorithmic programming expanded. A new report cites data that predicts “digital advice users will increase from roughly 2 million to 17 million by 2021.” In this article, Bates Research takes a closer look at existing SEC compliance guidance on robo-advisory services and some of the enforcement concerns in this rapidly expanding marketplace.

At the November 2018 SIFMA C&L New York Regional Seminar, Susan Schroeder, FINRA’s Executive Vice President and Head of Enforcement, discussed some of FINRA’s enforcement priorities heading into 2019. You can expect these to be included when the official list comes out in January. Read the full alert to preview FINRA's 2019 priorities.