FINRA

FINRA Fines Minneapolis Broker-Dealer $1M for Inadequate Supervision of Penny Stocks

Published on: September 13, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has issued an enforcement action charging Feltl & Company for not notifying certain customers of the suitability and risks involving certain penny-stock transactions, as well as for failing to issue customer account statements showing each penny stock’s market value. The brokerage firm is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

FINRA claims that the firm failed to properly document transactions for securities that temporarily may not have fulfilled the definition of a penny stock and did not properly track penny-stock transactions involving securities that didn’t make a market.

Feltl made a market in nearly twenty penny stocks. The brokerage firm made $2.1 million from at least 2,450 customer transactions that were solicited in 15 penny stocks between 2008 and 2012. The SRO says it isn’t clear how much the firm made from selling penny stocks that it didn’t keep track of but that revenue from this would have been substantial.

FINRA Headlines: SRO Considers Revised Broker Bonus Plan, To Discuss Potential Dark Pool Rules, May Instigate Civil Action Against Wells Fargo, &Warns Investors About Frontier Markets

Published on: September 12, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

FINRA to Revive Proposal Mandating that Brokers Disclose Recruitment Incentives

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has decided to revive a proposal that would obligate brokers to notify clients of any incentives they received for being recruited by another firm. The self-regulatory organization had withdrawn the rule in June after getting over 180 comment letters.

Now, however, according to the agenda for FINRA’s next board meeting, the SRO intends to look at a revised recruitment practices policy that would make the recruiting firms delineate their compensation packages to clients who are thinking of moving their assets from the a broker’s previous firm to the financial representative’s new firm.

Citigroup Global Markets Fined $1.85M By FINRA, Must Pay $638K Restitution Over Non-Convertible Preferred Securities Transaction Valuations

Published on: August 27, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says that Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (C) will pay a fine of $1.85 million for not providing best execution in about 22,000 customer transactions of non-convertible preferred securities, as well as for supervisory deficiencies that went on for over three years. Affected customers are to get over $638,000 plus interest.

A firm and its registered persons have to exercise reasonable diligence to make sure that the sale/buying price the customer pays is the most favorable one under market conditions at that time. FINRA says that instead a Citigroup trading desk used a pricing methodology for the securities that failed to properly factor in the securities’ National Best Bid and Offer. Because of this, contends the self-regulatory organization, over 14,800 customer transactions were priced inferior to the NBBO. The SRO also claims that because Citigroup’s BondsDirect system for order execution used a faulty pricing logic, over 7,200 customers transactions were priced at less than NBBO.

FINRA says that Citigroup’s written supervisory procedures and supervisory system related to best execution in these securities were lacking. It claims that the firm did not review customer transactions for the securities at issue, which were either executed manually by the trading desk or on BondsDirect. Such an assessment could have ensured compliance with Citigroup’s best execution duties. (FINRA noted that it had sent the firm inquiry letters about the reviews.)

FINRA Claims Wedbush Securities Engaged in Supervisory and Anti-Money Laundering Violations

Published on: August 26, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has filed a disciplinary complaint against Wedbush Securities Inc. that accuses the firm of violations related to anti-money laundering and systemic supervision. The self-regulatory organization says that from January 2008 through August 2013, Wedbush did not put enough of its resources towards supervisory systems, risk-management controls, and procedures. At the time, the firm was one of the largest market access providers, making millions of dollars from the business.

Because of purported violations, contends FINRA, market-access customers, including non-registered participants, were able to permeate U.S. exchanges and make thousands of trades that could have been manipulative and may have even involved spoofing and manipulative layering. The agency says that even though it was Wedbush’s duty to look out for suspect and possibility manipulative trades, the firm depended mostly on its market access customers to self-report such trading, as well as self-monitor.

FINRA contends that even though Wedbush received notice about the risks involved in its market access business, the firm ‘s supervisory procedures and risk management controls were not reasonably designed to deal with these factors. Wedbush even established incentives for compensation to be based on the value of market customer access trading. FINRA says that Wedbush should have set up, kept up, and enforced satisfactory AML policies and procedures, and it purportedly failed to report suspect transactions.

Securities Regulations News: SEC Looks to Delay Principal Trading Rules, FINRA Adds More Time to REIT Price Changes and 2nd Circuit Says Dodd-Frank’s Whistleblower Protections Don’t Apply Overseas

Published on: August 22, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

SEC Wants To Extend Temporary Rule Letting Dually-Registered Advisers Get Principal Trading Consent

For the third time in four years, The Securities and Exchange Commission wants to extend a temporary rule that makes it easier for investment advisers that are also registered as brokers to sell from the proprietary accounts of their firms. The regulator issued for comment its proposal that would move the interim’s rule expiration date to the end of 2016 instead of the end of 2014.

Under the temporary rule, dually registered advisers can either get verbal consent for principal trades on a transaction basis or give written prospective disclosure and authorization, in addition to yearly reports to the clients. With principal trades, a brokerage firm uses its own securities in the transaction.

FINRA Investor Alert Warns About Scams Touting Ebola Cure and Other Viral Disease Stock Schemes

Published on: August 19, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has put out an investor alert warning against buying stocks in companies claiming to combat viral diseases. The self-regulatory organization says it knows of several possible schemes involving stock promotions employing tactics such as pump-and-dump scams to inflate share prices. The scammers will then sell their shares at a profit while leaving investors with shares that have lost their value.

Intensified news coverage of the recent Ebola and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak will likely have attracted the attention of stock scammers wanting to take advantage of people’s fears. To avoid falling victim to a viral disease stock scam, FINRA is offering several tips, including:

• Be wary of promotional materials, correspondence, and press releases from senders you don’t know. Watch out for communications that say little about the risks involved while only touting the positives. Getting a barrage of information about the same stock opportunities can also be a red flag.

FINRA Panel Orders Morgan Stanley Unit to Pay Banamex Unit $4.5M Over Alleged Unauthorized Third Party Loans

Published on: August 15, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

According to a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel, Morgan Stanley & Co. (MS) must pay Banco Nacional de Mexico SA unit $4.5 million for allegedly letting funds from a family’s trust account be utilized for paying back third-party loans without authorization. The Mexican bank, also known as Banamex, was trustee to the account. It filed its securities arbitration case in 2012.

The trust was established in 2007 with proceeds from a property that members of a family had inherited and decided to sell. Banamex and the beneficiaries of the trust worked with a Morgan Stanley (MS) broker, who ran their accounts. The trust accounts were at a Morgan Stanley banking unit. They were set up in such a way that the assets were not supposed to be used as guarantees to pay third-party loans that another family member’s account had taken.

Morgan Stanley is accused of compelling the trust accounts to guarantee payment of a third-party loan without getting Banamex’s consent. According to the plaintiffs, the brokerage firm improperly guaranteed or recorded the trust assets for the relative, who did not belong to the trust.

SEC Signs Off On FINRA Rule Restricting Expungement Of Customer Complaints

Published on: July 31, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has approved a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) rule that could make it tougher for brokers to expunge customer complaints from their records in settled arbitration cases. Rule 2081 bars brokers from making settlements with customers contingent upon the customer’s consent to not oppose the expungement of the dispute from the public record of the broker.

A record of arbitration complaints filed against brokers is kept as a part of the CRD system. The CRD system contains data about registered representatives and members, including their registration, employment, and personal histories. It also includes disclosure information pertaining to civil judiciary, disciplinary, and regulatory actions, criminal matters, and data about customer disputes and complaints.

The public can access this data through FINRA’s BrokerCheck website. Brokers can have a customer dispute erased from the CRD system and BrokerCheck only through a court order that confirms there has been an arbitration award that recommends such relief.

FINRA Wants To Delay Implementing Rule Impacting Nontraded REIT Customers’ Statements

Published on: July 17, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority wants the Securities and Exchange Commission to grant a delay in the implementation of proposed changes to rule 2340, which impacts customer account statements. The self-regulatory organization had originally asked for the modifications to go into effect six months after the SEC approves the rule change. Now, FINRA wants to give nontraded REIT sponsors and brokerage firms 18 months to adjust to the revised guidelines.

Nontraded REITs are currently not required to show an estimated per-share valuation until 18 months after the sponsors cease to raise funds. Under the proposed rule change, broker-dealer client account statements would eliminate the existing practice of listing at $10 the value, for every share, of a nontraded REIT. This is usually the price that registered representatives sell them at.

The rule change would factor the different commissions and fees that dealer managers and brokers get. It would lower the price per share for every private placement or nontraded REIT found on the account statement of a customer.

FINRA May Expel Ex-Broker For $6M Hedge Fund

Published on: July 15, 2014 | by Shepherd Smith Edwards & Kantas, LLP

Dean Mustaphalli, an ex-Sterne Agee Financial Services Inc. broker, could be barred from the industry over allegations that he ran a $6 million hedge fund on the side. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc., Mustaphalli founded and got commissions from Mustaphalli Capital Partners in 2011 but did not tell his brokerage-firm.

Already, Mustaphalli has been named in at least two arbitration claims. He ran the hedge fund through Mustaphalli Advisory Group. It is not known time whether any of the 25 investors he solicited were Sterne Agee clients. Over a four-month period, he was paid about $41,800 in management fees.

Mustaphalli was fired from Sterne Agee in 2011. After he was let go, he purportedly kept soliciting clients for his hedge fund through the investment adviser.