Law and regulation

The Dodd-Frank Act contains many examples of this desire to impose old standards on a new reality.

Our legal expert explains the ramifications of serving elderly clients.

FINRA and the SEC issued a joint risk alert and regulatory notice Wednesday, advising broker-dealers to make sure they’re mindful of what’s going on within their branch offices and even offering some tips to ensure they remain in compliance.

FINRA has sanctioned eight firms and 10 individuals for selling interests in private placement offerings “without having a reasonable basis for recommending the securities,” the regulatory agency said in a statement. The sanctions included ordering more than $3.2 million in total restitution.

The SEC has charged three investment advisors — OMNI Investment Advisors, Feltl & Company and Asset Advisors LLC — for failing to implement compliance procedures to prevent securities law violations. OMNI’s owner, Gary R. Beynon, was also charged.

An industry group has asked regulators to disclose the factors they will use to determine which muni broker-dealers pose more risks and should undergo compliance examinations more often under a new proposed exam program.

Rep. Barney Frank, the influential Massachusetts Democrat who championed legislation that made such a dramatic impact on the financial planning industry, will not seek re-election next year, capping a 32-year career in Congress.

With new cost-basis reporting requirements in effect for the 2011 tax year, Charles Schwab is warning investment advisors to brace for a hectic tax season and prepare for a flood of questions from clients who for the first time will receive a revised 1099-B form packed with new transaction information.

The Financial Services Authority has for the first time ever barred a compliance officer from working in the financial services industry.

The SEC charged a longtime Bernie Madoff employee with fraud for his role in creating fake trades to facilitate the massive Ponzi scheme.

The SEC's newly enacted Rule 13h-1 requires “large traders” to register to be assigned an identification number that will allow tracking of its transactions.

The SEC has ordered broker-dealer FTN Financial Securities to pay nearly $2 million for allowing a registered investment advisor, Sentinel Management, to defraud its clients through a reverse repurchase transaction.

Leaders of the Financial Services Institute expressed cautious optimism about their efforts to dilute or derail an initiative under way at the Department of Labor to broaden the scope of the term "fiduciary," a top policy priority for the advocacy organization.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management agreed to pay $3.3 million in a case involving billing for subadvisory services in Malaysia that the SEC said were not rendered.

Investors and financial executives are increasingly feeling overloaded by the volume and complexity of financial disclosure information in annual reports and other financial filings, according to a new study.

UBS Financial Services Inc. was fined $300,000 by FINRA for failing to supervise and prevent excessive cross-trading of municipal securities between the customer accounts of one broker for a two-year period.

The Chase unit recommended risky investments to unsophisticated investors with little or no risk tolerance, FINRA said.

The SEC has accused Chetan Kapur, a manager of a fund of hedge funds, with deceptive conduct in investing in hedge funds that are either Ponzi schemes or fraudulent.

So it is coming down to this: a capital buffer or -- hold on to your portfolio P&L -- a floating net asset value.

CPA allegedly violated injunction from practicing before the SEC by auditing broker-dealers.