Finra could allow remote participation in arbitration proceedings on a permanent basis, Chief Executive Robert W. Cook said Tuesday.
When the coronavirus pandemic broke out in March 2020, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. suspended in-person arbitration hearings due to social distancing concerns. The organization resumed in-person hearings at all of its 69 nationwide sites last August.
But Cook said there is still demand to conduct hearings by Zoom or at least to have some witnesses appear remotely.
“We’ve got a great arbitration task force that has industry representatives, representatives of the investor community who are going to help us think about how we can continue to have a hybrid environment in this space going forward,” Cook said at a virtual conference sponsored by the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.
Lawyers representing customer claimants against brokerages and registered representatives in the Finra arbitration system expressed mixed feelings about remote arbitration.
The arbitration process could evolve thanks to the lessons learned during the pandemic.
“The challenge now is how do we move to a third paradigm — from mostly in-person to entirely remote and now a hybrid,” Cook said. “How do we make that work effectively? How do we bring forward the best of both of those two worlds as we step into, hopefully, a new era post-pandemic.”
The Public Investors Advocate Bar Association asserted last spring that remote hearings benefit brokers and harm investors. The organization urged Finra to resume in-person hearings at all of Finra’s hearing sites, a step the broker-dealer self-regulator took later in the year as the number of Americans who had been vaccinated increased and the nation began to reopen.
A Texas-based bank selects Raymond James for a $605 million program, while an OSJ with Osaic lures a storied institution in Ohio from LPL.
The Treasury Secretary's suggestion that Trump Savings Accounts could be used as a "backdoor" drew sharp criticisms from AARP and Democratic lawmakers.
Changes in legislation or additional laws historically have created opportunities for the alternative investment marketplace to expand.
Wealth managers highlight strategies for clients trying to retire before 65 without running out of money.
Shares of the online brokerage jumped as it reported a surge in trading, counting crypto transactions, though analysts remained largely unmoved.
Orion's Tom Wilson on delivering coordinated, high-touch service in a world where returns alone no longer set you apart.
Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.