Regulation

A FINRA arbitration panel has dismissed a claim that Stifel illegitimately poached a number of legacy A.G. Edwards advisors.

Alarmed at a set of conditions that could invite sales abuses and eventually a market correction, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority enters 2013 with a warning to investment advisors that the group plans to keep a close eye on the industry and hold advisors accountable to its new suitability rule.

Bank of America agreed to pay $62.5 million to resolve investor claims that the bank’s directors mishandled the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co., company officials said.

The current economic recovery, while slow, is on track. Fiscal cliff fears have been grossly exaggerated, to the detriment of investors and planners. And sometimes there’s an upside to a modest recession.

Goldman Sachs says it will begin publishing values of the assets held in its money market mutual funds in the United States on a daily basis.

The SEC has already missed its end-of-the-year deadline on laying down rules for so-called crowdfunding of new companies. But FINRA has jumped into the regulatory void, issuing a voluntary form for prospective funding portals.

Et tu, Ned Johnson?

One day after Goldman announced that it was publishing daily “shadow values” of its money funds, J.P. Morgan Funds and BlackRock are also planning to publish net asset values for their own money funds.

As advisors wait to see whether they'll be regulated by the SEC or FINRA, the SEC announced that its enforcement director, Robert Khuzami, will leave the agency.

Goldman Sachs said it will begin publishing values of the assets held in its money market mutual funds in the United States on a daily basis. The first funds for which the daily market values will be published are funds that invest in commercial paper.