Regulatory actions and programs

Wall Street whistleblowers just got another reason to take their gripes directly to the SEC.

The regulator's proposal is set to remake compliance standards for brokers and advisors.

By requiring brokers to look out for clients’ best interests, the SEC is effectively requiring them to give financial advice, which distinguishes them from online brokers and should let them keep charging clients premium fees.

How often should CCOs pay a visit to branch offices?

An unregistered advisor with little investing experience raised $1.4 million from family and friends and then squandered the money on bad investments, federal prosecutors say.

The defrauded clients included the advisor’s own in-laws, who had suffered from Alzheimer’s and a debilitating stroke.

If it's not uniform, and it's not a fiduciary standard, then it is at best a modest step forward, investor advocates say.

It appears the regulator bought into the investor choice argument of sales reps right from the beginning.

New rules recognize the fact that commission-based transaction services can be the most cost effective way for Main Street investors to receive financial advice.

New rules would set standards of conduct for brokers, require new disclosures and offer interpretive guidance for fiduciary advisors.