SEC

Enforcement actions at the SEC and FINRA highlight emphasis regulators are placing on fees and reverse churning, anti-money laundering programs and variable annuities.

The wirehouse was hit with sanctions from the SEC and FINRA for disregarding securities rules, misusing clients’ cash and not disclosing product costs.

The SEC found that auditing or testing would likely have revealed deficiencies in controls that allowed an employee access to client information at the wirehouse, says leading compliance expert Alan Foxman.

In contentious Senate testimony, White fended off accusations that the regulatory body has dragged its feet. Again, she did not offer a timeline for implementing a fiduciary rule from the SEC.

The regulator cited security oversights that led to the theft of thousands of customer accounts.

The firm is facing a lawsuit on behalf of investors who lost money in a $350 million Ponzi scheme.

Careful steps need to be taken so FINRA won't consider it an outside business activity, says compliance expert Alan Foxman.

“The SEC is notorious for blowing through rule-making deadlines—both congressionally mandated and self-imposed, such as this,” says Micah Hauptman, financial services counsel at the Consumer Federation of America.

Commission staffers are probing how broker-dealers are handling ETFs and the extent to which investors understand the risks of the funds.

The new rules were developed in consultation with the SEC, the Labor secretary adds.