Supervision is lacking at B-Ds, NASAA says

SEP 16, 2012
By  DJAMIESON
State regulators are seeing fewer problems with variable annuity sales but continue to see violations in some areas of supervision at broker-dealers, according to a review of 236 exams conducted in the first half. The top five types of violations include failure to follow written supervisory policies, suitability, correspondence/e-mail, maintenance of customer account information and internal audits, according to the review, released last Sunday at the annual meeting of the North American Securities Administrators Association Inc. in Coronado, Calif.

SQUEEZED RESOURCES

States found violations with written supervisory procedures in 24% of exams that they checked for such issues and 20% of the time when they looked at suitability. Regulators at the state level are concerned that problems are popping up as a result of reductions in compliance resources at brokerage firms. “We are concerned about [broker-dealers'] having enough staff to service regulatory inquiries and [provide] customer service,” William Reilly, special assistant to the director of Florida's Office of Financial Regulation, said at a meeting of NASAA's broker-dealer section, which was held during the association's annual gathering. Firms also are skimping on exception reports they buy from their clearing firms, he said. The Florida regulator warned industry compliance people to make sure that they speak with customers who have a complaint rather than just the broker involved. In addition, firms need to beef up branch audits and follow up to ensure problems are fixed, Mr. Reilly said. [email protected] Twitter: @dvjamieson

Latest News

Next-gen woman advisor managing $200M switches from UBS to Sanctuary Wealth
Next-gen woman advisor managing $200M switches from UBS to Sanctuary Wealth

Advisor joins the Partnered Independence model for new firm launch.

How did US institutional investors navigate the choppy waters of Q4, 2024?
How did US institutional investors navigate the choppy waters of Q4, 2024?

Median return for institutions managing a combined $1.4T revealed.

Trump set to hit foreign steel imports with 25% tariffs
Trump set to hit foreign steel imports with 25% tariffs

Canada, Mexico appear to be included despite pause on other levies.

Dollar gains on tariffs as trade fears intensify
Dollar gains on tariffs as trade fears intensify

Strategists see potential inflation impact, more cautious Fed.

Bond market experts expect yields to continue higher
Bond market experts expect yields to continue higher

Uncertainty set to keep upward pressure on fixed income investments.

SPONSORED Taylor Matthews on what's behind Farther's rapid growth

From 'no clients' to reshaping wealth management, Farther blends tech and trust to deliver family-office experience at scale.

SPONSORED Why wealth advisors should care about the future of federal tax policy

Blue Vault features expert strategies to harness for maximum client advantage.