Posted by William Byrnes on September 22, 2014
International Financial Law Prof Blog
…bankers and brokers defiantly have hardened in their quest for bigger and bigger paydays. Wolf of Wall Street? What we’re seeing is a pack of wild dogs that continue to use any means necessary to line their pockets no matter the fines, convictions and settlements that regulators throw at them.
Posted in Compliance | Tagged: Wall Street | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on January 10, 2012
As anticipated, the SEC will delay implementation of the RIA transition. On June 22, the SEC approved rules that will transition thousands of advisors from SEC to state regulation, but the new rules won’t be effective until June 28, 2012, almost a year later than initially expected.
Under the regulatory structure in place before the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, investment advisors with $25 million or more in assets under management (AUM) were regulated by the SEC, and those with less than $25 million in AUM were regulated by the states. Dodd-Frank changed the registration threshold so that advisors with between $25 and $100 million in AUM—so-called “midsize advisors”—will be required to withdraw their registration from the SEC and register with state regulators.
Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).
For previous coverage of the planned switch and in Advisor’s Journal, see Disarray at the SEC is Complicating the “Switch” (CC 11-83), Hedge Funds Must Now Register with the SEC under the New Wall Street Reform Act (CC 10-45) & Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (CC 10-35).
Posted in Wealth Management | Tagged: Consumer Protection Act, Dodd-Frank, Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Hedge fund, Registered Investment Advisor, Regulation, SEC, Wall Street | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on November 8, 2011
Last year Congress finally concluded about whether indexed annuities are securities. As a security, indexed annuities were subject to regulation by the SEC by including a provision in the in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act that defines indexed annuities as insurance products outside the agency’s jurisdiction.
This year, some states are refusing to take Congress’s “NO” for an answer. In the latest action on the issue, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White issued an order on May 24 indirectly concluding that indexed annuities are securities under Illinois law.
Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).
For previous coverage of indexed annuities in Advisor’s Journal, see Indexed Annuities: Still Insurance (CC 10 42).
Posted in Wealth Management | Tagged: Congress, Illinois, insurance, Jesse White, Life annuity, Pension, Retirement, Wall Street | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on July 15, 2011
Investment advisors and broker-dealers may be required to disclose their incentive-based compensation programs under proposed rules approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 2. The proposed rule is the latest in a series of advisor and broker-dealer reporting rules issued under the mandate of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.
The rapidly increasing compliance obligations for advisory firms and B-Ds has the capability to drastically modify business practices at affected firms. Many will be forced to reconfigure their entire compensation program to comply with the new rules.
Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).
For previous coverage of advisor reporting requirements in Advisor’s Journal, see Advisors Hit with Another Round of SEC Reporting Rules (CC 11-30).
Posted in Wealth Management | Tagged: Broker-dealer, Business, Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Executive pay, Investing, Investment Advisor, US Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on April 5, 2011
Why is this Topic Important to Wealth Managers? This topic discusses the evaluation report of the financial crisis issued by a Congressionally appointed body. The report presents discussion of events and causes leading up to the ordeal, as well as indications and factors which presented its forthcoming. The discussion is aimed to allow wealth managers to intelligently discuss some causes of the financial crisis with clients and colleagues.
There was a new report issued earlier this year by the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which was created to “examine the causes of the current financial and economic crisis in the United States.” [1] In this report, the Commission presents to the President, the Congress, and the general public the results of its examination and its conclusions as to the causes of the crisis.
The Commission was established as part of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act passed by Congress and signed by the President in May 2009. [2] The independent panel was selected by Congress and composed of private citizens with experience in areas such as housing, economics, insurance, market regulation, banking, and consumer protection.
The report is intended to provide a historical accounting of what brought our financial system and economy to a precipice and to help policy makers and the public better understand how this calamity came to be.
Below are some of the findings issued in the report: Read the analysis at AdvisorFYI
Posted in Compliance | Tagged: Finance, Financial crisis, Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, Government, Policy, United States, United States Congress, Wall Street | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on February 23, 2011
Despite Congress’s best efforts after the recent economic meltdown, a cadre of Wall Street’s biggest banks still dominates the derivatives markets, leaving some observers wondering whether the transparency the Act was supposed to bring was just a well-intentioned but overly optimistic dream.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act (Act) gave the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) extensive new authority over participants in the derivatives and swaps markets. But the transparency and equity many hoped the Act would bring to the markets is bottlenecked in the agencies charged with implementing the legislation.
The CFTC was scheduled to consider conflict of interest rules for swap execution facilities, derivatives clearing organizations and designated contract markets at their January 13, 2011 meeting, but disagreement about the scope of the rules resulted in the items being nixed from consideration at the meeting.
Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).
For previous coverage of the Dodd-Frank Act in Advisor’s Journal, see Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (CC 10-35) and Wall Street Reform Act Mandates Study of Financial Planning Industry (CC 10-73).
Posted in Wealth Management | Tagged: Business, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Derivatives market, Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Market, Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on December 6, 2010
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The Wall Street Reform Act1—signed into law by President Obama on July 21, 2010— grants the SEC the power to impose a fiduciary duty on broker-dealers. Although the SEC has not yet moved to apply the fiduciary standard—already applicable to registered investment advisors—to broker-dealers, both sides of the argument have made their voices heard, commissioning studies and sending volleys of comments to the SEC.
Holding broker-dealers to a higher standard would seem, at first glance, to be a positive for their customers. But a November 1, 2010, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) commissioned study calls into question whether applying a fiduciary standard of conduct to all brokerage activities would help investors. Read this complete article at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).
For previous coverage of the fiduciary standard of conduct in Advisor’s Journal, see What You Don’t Know Yet Might Hurt You: A Broker’s Duties under the Financial Reform Act (CC 10 40).
We invite your questions and comments by posting them below or by calling the Panel of Experts.
Posted in Wealth Management | Tagged: Broker-dealer, Consumer Federation of America, Fiduciary, Financial adviser, Registered Investment Advisor, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on October 26, 2010
The federal government is taking the first steps toward regulating financial planners. The Financial Planning Association and other industry groups are welcoming the prospect of federal oversight. The federal push toward regulation is motivated by a perceived widespread misuse of “Financial Planner” and other similar designations.
The Wall Street Reform Act requires the Government Accountability Office to study state and federal regulation of persons who hold themselves out as financial planners. The study will consider whether there are regulatory gaps in federal and state law that permit unregistered financial planners and others who provide planning services to escape regulation. The use of �misleading titles, designations and marketing materials� by financial planners will also be scrutinized to determine whether current law adequately protects consumers.
Read this complete article at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).
For previous coverage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act in Advisor�s Journal, see Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (CC 10-35), Hedge Fund Must Now Register with the SEC Under the New Wall Street Reform Act (CC 10-45), & The Federal Insurance Office.
We invite your questions and comments by posting them at AdvisorFYI or by calling the Panel of Experts.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Financial planner, Financial Planning Association, Government Accountability Office, Hedge fund, Republican, Wall Street, Wall Street reform | Leave a Comment »
Posted by William Byrnes on September 28, 2010
Although regulation of insurance generally has been left to the states, the Wall Street Reform Act may foreshadow future federal oversight of the industry. The Act creates the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) within the Treasury, which will monitor all components of the insurance industry—excluding the health, crop, and long-term care sectors.
Today’s analysis by our Experts William Byrnes and Robert Bloink is located at AdvisorFX Journal The Federal Insurance Office
Posted in Insurance | Tagged: Business, Federal Insurance Office, Financial services, Health, insurance, Long-term care, Regulation, Wall Street | Leave a Comment »
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