FINRA

Investor advocates would like to see enforcement provisions, not just incentives.

FINRA found that Michael Mancinelli improperly exercised discretion and caused his firm to have inaccurate books and records.

Clients with a dispute against their advisor are often compelled to pay upfront for arbitration, which is unfair, write attorneys Christine Lazaro and Michael Edmiston.

The Salt Lake City broker-dealer, under scrutiny by regulators over its exorbitant fees and seizure of client money, lost a court battle seeking to force regulator FINRA to deal with it in person.

Wall Street’s self-regulator says recent data show that only mid-sized and smaller firms would have fit its new “red flag” criteria.

Nearly 100 clients Mata allegedly defrauded for $14.5 million have received paltry restitution after exhausting every possible method.

The Houston, Texas-based firm was also censured and required to retain an independent consultant.

FINRA arbitrators decided not to hold the major custodian liable for transactions prior to 2008, an attorney for the clients says.

Sanctuary also failed to review outside business activities of certain representatives and did not terminate a securities offering that failed to meet the minimum contingency requirement, FINRA says.

The regulator’s annual industry snapshot and financial report offer a nuanced picture of wealth management’s most significant dividing line.