Jennifer L. Cunningham

Managing Director

jcunningham@batesgroup.com

Jennifer L. Cunningham is a Bates Group Managing Director and an accomplished and seasoned financial services industry professional with over of 20 years of experience working with financial advisors and customers in branch office management, risk and supervision, customer complaints, FINRA arbitration and mediation matters, suitability, operations, sales support, Human Resources, customer communications and relations, project management and FINRA new member applications. Her experience encompasses more than a decade as a compliance manager, where she monitored and supervised the activities of financial advisors, registered and non-registered employees, and customer accounts to ensure adherence to firm and regulatory policies, processes and procedures. Ms. Cunningham’s key areas of expertise include customer complaint reporting and resolution, corporate representative for mediations and arbitrations, internal and external audits (FINRA, SEC, Federal Reserve), heightened supervision plans, and Human Resources.

Prior to joining Bates, Ms. Cunningham served as a Managing Director at another consulting firm, where she assisted that firm’s overall business development efforts with a focus on diversity and inclusion.  Drawing upon her branch office compliance manager background, she provided expertise in support of broker-dealer litigation and customer complaint matters, as well as prepared FINRA broker-dealer New Member Applications. Ms. Cunningham also served as lead project manager for specialized regulatory and compliance consulting retentions.

Ms. Cunningham has held various broker-dealer management positions during her career. At UBS Financial Services, Inc. (UBS), headquartered in Weehawken, NJ, she was a Director, Senior Client Communications Manager, where she worked in the Marketing office, drafting and executing UBS’s customer communications. Ms. Cunningham also worked with in-house and outside counsel on firm-wide customer settlement communications. At UBS, Ms. Cunningham was also a Director, Complex Administrative Manager for UBS’s Park Avenue branch office in New York City, where she supervised the branch office compliance and operations teams and the 55+ person branch office sales support team. Ms. Cunningham was responsible for sourcing candidates, interviewing, hiring, financial advisor support, and performance reviews. In her regulatory function, she was responsible for registered employees’ compliance with securities rules and regulations.

Prior to joining UBS in 2013, Ms. Cunningham was a Vice President, Administrative Manager at the Merrill Lynch Fifth Avenue flagship office in New York City, where her responsibilities included compliance, customer complaints, heightened supervision, and liaising with in-house and outside counsel on customer litigation, as well as serving as Merrill’s corporate representative for those matters. She also performed daily supervisory and suitability reviews and approvals.

Ms. Cunningham began her financial services career in the early 1990’s in Wilmington, DE. She became a FINRA licensed Sales Assistant in 1997 and has held FINRA Series 7, 9, 10, 31, 63 and Series 65 licenses.