A wild ride: The major changes in the broker-dealer world since July 2008
Dec. 3: Owner and chairman John Sykes resigns from the board of GunnAllen Financial Inc. Less than three weeks later, he launches JHS Capital Advisors Inc., a firm comprising Pointe Capital Inc. — a brokerage business he bought from GunnAllen the previous week — and a wealth management unit led by former Merrill Lynch executive Mary Kennemur.
Dec. 11: Before passing the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, the House of Representatives kills an amendment that would have given Finra the authority to regulate investment advisers.
Dec. 15: Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., (above) introduces the Taxpayer Responsibility, Accountability and Consistency Act of 2009, the core provisions of which would make it more difficult for employers to classify workers as independent contractors and give the Internal Revenue Service more reasons to question the independent-contractor status of advisers affiliated with independent broker-dealers. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., who introduced a similar House bill in July, agrees to work with the Financial Services Institute Inc. to find a solution to the bill's unintended implications for such advisers.
Dec. 16: The FSI names Mari Buechner, president and CEO of 80-adviser Coordinated Capital Securities Inc., its chairman for 2010.