FINRA

Also this month in our disciplinary digest, a frequent CNBC analyst is sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding investors, and a former Fidelity advisor faced charges after borrowing millions from clients.

The question has turned into something of a paradox because of the related, but different, rise of RIAs and how that has affected independent brokerages.

The tide is in the wirehouse's direction in its fights with advisors who've left for rival firms.

The mega bank had tried to resist going before FINRA arbitrators by arguing its brokerage unit wasn't involved in an $8.4 million fraud scheme. The victim and a federal judge disagreed.

The win for Morgan Stanley comes after a recent string of victories against brokers who left for rival firms. But as the outcome in the JPMorgan case shows, firms don't always prevail.

Morgan Stanley is under investigation by FINRA over how it vetted clients for money-laundering risks, adding to existing federal scrutiny of its wealth-management and trading units.

Chuck Roberts, whose recommendations of structured notes landed the St. Louis firm a nearly $133 million arbitration award, was kicked out of the industry after ceasing to cooperate with a regulatory investigation.

The accusations led to the end of 16 years at the firm.

Panelists on a FINRA arbitration board cited Randy Anderson's claims of age discrimination when questioning UBS's reasons for firing its former broker. Now UBS argues in a court filing that no evidence of discrimination was ever presented.

A FINRA arbitration panel's decision marked a rare rebuke for a large wealth manager seeking to reclaim money it provided an advisor recruited from a rival.