Regulation

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined Chicago-based Nuveen Investments $3 million for creating and distributing misleading brochures to promote the sale of auction rate preferred securities.

By listening to what individual investors are saying, wealth management firms can better serve various age demographics and clients, Bank of America President of Global Wealth Investment Sallie Krawcheck said at a FINRA panel.

Two big-bank executives said that unless Congress delays Dodd-Frank's cap on debit interchange fees, they are ready with options for new consumer and merchant fees.

While Congress, the SEC and individual states continue to work out the precise definition of a fiduciary and precisely what his or her requirements will be going forward, RIAs and other financial services professionals still need to take it upon themselves to implement best practices that will ensure they'll be in compliance whenever these new regulations are finalized.

FINRA has launched FINRA Disciplinary Actions Online, a searchable system that will give the public access to disciplinary actions for firms and registered representatives. It also adds another layer of transparency into the brokerage and financial advisory industry, on a firm and individual level.

Information on the original cost basis of stocks purchased by investors can now be transferred automatically in roughly 97% of cases.

While a religious group was predicting the imminent Apocalypse last week, a set of financial services industry representatives were warning of the possible end to their own world.

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel awarded $1.7 million to a Texas man and the estate of his deceased wife, after finding that a former independent contractor at Raymond James Financial Services improperly managed their portfolio using life insurance and variable annuities.

The firm should have been more on the ball, from a supervisory standpoint, the claimants’ attorney said.

Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) have proposed the Savings Enhancement by Alleviating Leakage in 401(k) Savings Act (SEAL), which would limit the number of loans that participants can take from their 401(k) to no more than three at a time.