A sprawling case of alleged securities fraud involving an independent broker-dealer and two brokers may wind up costing an insurance company $10.3 million.
As part of a settlement last month with securities regulators in Arizona, Woodbury Financial Services Inc. agreed to tighten its policy of looking into the financial backgrounds of their 1,750 reps and advisers.
Finra may have given broker-dealers and registered representatives a reprieve of sorts last year as the amount in fines and enforcement actions it levied against firms plummeted.
Independent registered representatives and their spouses soon could face unprecedented scrutiny into their personal finances.
As the stock market plummeted in 2008 and chaos reigned on Wall Street, Finra regulators found less reason to levy fines and enforcement actions against broker-dealers and their registered reps, according to a study.
Raymond James Financial Inc. has acquired a boutique investment bank to expand its reach in that business, following through on plans to scoop up acquisitions in the troubled market.
Broker-dealers may face higher costs connected with customer disputes if revised legislation that would do away with mandatory securities arbitration passes both houses of Congress and is signed into law.
Keeping track of rogue brokers is a tricky business, particularly when they leave or are booted from the confines of the securities industry, but keep peddling financial products.
If legal action against Fisher Investments is any indication, financial advisers increasingly will face lawsuits and arbitration claims from clients who are angry about investment losses.
On the back of strong recruiting and the ability to attract new clients, LPL Investment Holdings Inc. of Boston has reported net income of $14.8 million for the first three months of this year — an increase of 26.8% over the same period in 2008.
