Finra launches helpline for small-firm members

Finra launched a helpline for small-firm members on Monday to answer "general and routine" compliance questions. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. personnel will be available on the helpline from 9 a.m. EST until 5 p.m. EST Monday through Friday at 833-26-FINRA, or 833-263-4672. "One of the real benefits of our role as a self-regulatory organization is our ability to provide firms with the tools and resources to help them comply with regulations — and this new resource is aimed squarely at doing that," said Robert Cook, Finra president and chief executive, in a statement. "The helpline will serve as the clearinghouse for more routine calls and general information, which will make it faster and easier for small firms to get answers, and will free up other critical Finra resources to help firms with more substantive matters such as examinations, financial questions, the implementation of rules and licensing requirements. The helpline is another example of the Finra360 improvement initiative, the organization said. Mr. Cook launched Finra 360 last year along with an ongoing listening tour. Along the way, he has heard complaints from some of the approximately 3,400 small firms, which have 150 or fewer registered representatives, that Finra oversees. In addition to the helpline, Finra has established a compliance calendar and vendor directory for small firms. "This is complex regulatory environment we live in," said Wendy Lanton, chief of operations and compliance at Lantern Investments in Melville, New York, and chair of the Finra small firm advisory committee. "I hope the helpline will provide another resource for them to navigate the system." Bob Bagley, owner of Bullish Bob Bagley Securities​ in Garland, Texas, tried the helpline Monday morning. He had a query about how to use a corporate filing database to find publicly listed companies by the locations in which they operate. He said that he reached a Finra staffer quickly who created a case number. "I think it's fantastic," Mr. Bagley said. "They're working on my problem." (More:​ Who's watching the watchdog?) Mr. Bagley, who has been a broker-dealer for more than 30 years, said that Mr. Cook is taking small-firm concerns seriously. "You're seeing a sea change in how Finra is treating small firms," he said. "He listened to us, and he listened well."