Regulation

The Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement action against 13 dealer firms Monday represents a broad commission effort to correct behavior that was probably due to mistakes by individual traders dealing with an unusual bond issuance, attorneys and market participants said Tuesday.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today sanctioned 13 firms for improperly selling Puerto Rico bonds in denominations below a $100,000 minimum denomination set in a $3.5 billion offering earlier this year.

In an exclusive interview, John Taft, CEO of RBC Wealth Management-U.S., expresses concern that looming regulation could hobble a wealth industry just as it finds its stride.

"We believe the things people do over 30 years speaks volumes, and mean more than rumor and innuendo," says Ed Cofrancesco, president of International Assets Advisory, the broker-dealer that hired Jeb Bashaw.

FINRA promotes Richard W. Berry to lead its arbitration unit.

After a FINRA arbitration panel reached a rare split decision in a contract dispute between Gary T. Padussis and UBS, he calls signing bonuses the ‘dark side of the brokerage industry.’

LPL spent $32 million on fines and restitution for the nine months ending Sept. 30 -- about twice the amount the firm spent on such expenses in the prior two years combined.

Transparency, regulation, a changing clientele and products and new security threats - as industry heads gather in Boston this week for the annual FundForum USA conference, attendees say they are looking to their peers to compare practices and seek advice and solutions to challenges facing asset managers.

Over the summer, FINRA fined Merrill $8 million and ordered it to pay back $24.4 million for allegedly overcharging for mutual fund fees.

The “reverse churning” comes in when the client is in a wrap program, despite being a low-volume trader.