The SEC's warning to the Charles Schwab Corp. that <a href= http://www.investmentnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091015/FREE/910159992>it could face civil charges</a> over two fixed-income mutual funds may have a direct effect on current and looming legal actions from investors over losses suffered in the funds.
A recent report that details Finra's inability to detect R. Allen Stanford's long-running, $7.2 billion fraud clearly shows that the securities industry self-regulator has gaping and significant problems related to its exams of broker-dealers.
Broker-dealers and registered reps should not bear the burden of increased fees from Finra after the regulator's “failure to properly prepare for the inevitable market downturn,” according to a notice sent to broker-dealers last week from the Financial Services Institute.
Another key executive with the ING Advisors Network Inc. has stepped down, as the network's parent, ING Groep NV, continues an evaluation of the broker-dealers that could lead to their sale.
Fidelity Investments said this morning it is expanding its clearing business into Canada, with the intention of serving U.S. broker-dealers looking for a toehold in the market, while also targeting Canadian broker-dealers.
About 270 registered reps and advisers are scrambling for a new broker-dealer to park their licenses after being notified just yesterday that their firm — Colonial Brokerage Inc. — will be shut down in November, according to sources both inside and outside of Colonial.
Another key executive with the ING Advisors Network Inc. has stepped down, as the network's parent, ING Groep NV, continues an evaluation of the broker-dealers that could lead to their sale.
In a first, top executives with LPL Investment Holdings Inc. last week picked up hundreds of thousands of options to purchase the company's common stock — a move that has renewed speculation about a forthcoming initial public offering.
In what may be a first, a Native American tribe is buying a broker-dealer and money manager, with a plan to win business by using its status as a minority-owned firm to appeal to Native American investors.
