Law and regulation

Advisors are urged to weigh in as a pair of rulemaking proceedings move forward this summer.

Royal Bank of Canada was ordered to pay more than $800,000 to a U.S. couple over their losses on investments including Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. preferred stock.

Matthews Asia is closing its Gold-rated Matthews Asia Dividend Fund (MAPIX), which bets on income-paying stocks in the Asia Pacific region, to new investors on June 14.

Your clients need you. They really need you! A new report released by FINRA’s Investor Education Foundation shows why, and perhaps casts light on why financial planning has been ranked as one of the best careers.

The U.S. crackdown on Liberty Reserve is stoking fears that the government may effectively cut off digital currencies like Bitcoin as banks sever ties with businesses in this growing field.

The threat of cyberattack is an increasingly hot topic in Washington, but political interest alone appears unlikely to provide enough momentum to get cybersecurity legislation supported by banks passed this year.

The Board of Trustees of Touchstone Funds Group Trust has decided to appoint Forum Securities Limited as sub-advisor to the Touchstone Global Real Estate Fund (TGACX), replacing current interim sub-advisor Russell Implementation Services, a subsidiary of Russell Investment, effective May 24.

The Board of Trustees of the Tatro Tactical Appreciation Fund (TCTNX), a series of the Northern Lights Fund Trust, has decided to shut down the fund “in the best interests of its shareholders,” according to a filing.

Kara M. Stein and Michael S. Piwowar, both senior U.S. Senate aides, were nominated by President Obama to join the SEC.

An Iowa man was sentenced to 37 years in the clink for mailing bombs and threatening letters to mutual fund managers at Janus Capital Group and American Century Cos. in a bid to influence stock prices.

Franklin Templeton Investments is closing its Frontier Markets Fund to new investors on June 28, Money Management Executive has learned.

A House subcommittee Thursday looked at draft bills that would slow down the progress that the SEC is making toward implementation of a new, uniform fiduciary standard for broker-dealers and investment advisors.

Bankers and insurers are trying to use trade deals, which can trump existing legislation, to weaken parts of the Dodd-Frank Act designed to prevent a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis.

Rick Ketchum, CEO of FINRA, announced that the regulator will discuss a proposal at its board meeting in July that would require brokers to publicly disclose the compensation they receive when switching firms.

The Tilson Mutual Funds is saying goodbye to one of its own.

With markets at near historic highs, investor confidence still lags. Both regulators and financial firms share the responsibility to do something about it, said Richard Ketchum, CEO of FINRA on Tuesday.

Former three-term Republican U.S. Senator Judd Gregg, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's new chief executive officer, said Monday that he wants to improve the image of the industry and make sure Dodd-Frank rules are focused and not overly burdensome.

FINRA has increasingly put more firms on notice that they should expect their branch office doorbells to ring more often. In the past two years, FINRA has changed its approach when conducting examinations, favoring branch office inspections in lieu of the home office visits that it used to emphasize, said Susan Axelrod, executive vice president of regulatory operations at FINRA, at the self-regulatory organization’s annual conference on Monday.

SEC Commissioner Elisse Walter endorsed a uniform fiduciary standard for all investment pros … then invited her audience to fight industry fraud and abuse by becoming whistleblowers

Federated Investors has decided to liquidate the Federated Alabama Municipal Cash Trust (ALMXX).