News & Events

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Last week we focused on the important topic of elder and diminished capacity investors through a Q&A with elder investor expert Joe Thomas. Our timing couldn’t have been better, because FINRA announced (on the same morning our post went live) that it has sent a proposed new rule and rule amendments to the SEC that would allow for better protection of senior investors.   

A Q&A Interview with Bates Elder Investor Expert Joseph J. Thomas

Visit Bates Compliance Solutions leaders at the 2016 NSCP Compliance Conference - Booth 24!

We’ve often been asked the question, “Which securities product causes the most enforcement actions?” To formulate our answer, we undertook a deep analysis of the data available to us in our RegTelligence® database.

Bates Group Consulting Expert Susan Berger and Consultant Geoff Winkler had the pleasure of representing Bates at the 2016 Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) and Financial Crimes Conference presented by the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) last week in Las Vegas, Nevada. There were dozens of speakers representing regulatory agencies, financial institutions and consulting firms, and below are some of the key AML and financial crimes issues they identified facing the financial industry today: 

This week’s post builds upon a recent presentation given by Jennifer Stout, President/Chief Executive Officer of Bates Group, and David Birnbaum, Managing Director of Business Development and Strategy, at the annual Independent Broker Dealer Consortium conference, where they discussed winning strategies to maximize your impact from expert witnesses.

Bates Group is proud to announce that Jennifer Stout, President/CEO, and David Birnbaum, Managing Director of Business Development & Strategy, will be speaking on Wednesday, September 28 at the 2016 Independent Broker Dealer Consortium (IBDC) Conference taking place in Phoenix, Arizona.

Bates Group has been selected as a top Secuities Litigation Consulting Firm by the readers of the ​New York Law Journal​ for the second year in a row.

After several years of public discussion and comment, the U.S. Department of Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) recently issued its final rule regarding customer due diligence (“CDD”) requirements for covered financial institutions, including banks, broker-dealers and mutual funds under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”). 

Money laundering refers to the process of concealing the source of illegally obtained money, while anti-money laundering (AML) refers to the legal controls that require financial institutions and other regulated entities to detect, deter, prevent, and report money laundering activities. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. 

Recent senior securities and insurance regulators join Bates Group, the nation’s preeminent financial services consulting firm, providing end-to-end solutions on litigation, regulatory and compliance matters for financial services firms and their counsel.

There has been a significant amount of discussion about the fees and expenses charged by financial advisors as part of the Department of Labor’s new fiduciary standard, which we have previously discussed at length on this blog. However, regulators are now beginning to turn their focus to how these fees and expenses are being disclosed. 

Ralph M. Cursio, Esq., Affiliate Expert and Consultant, Bates Group LLC to Speak at KC’s Event

The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, the leading producer of regulatory focused webcasts, has announced today that Ralph M. Cursio, Esq., Affiliate Expert and Consultant, Bates Group LLC will speak at the Knowledge Group’s webcast entitled: FINRA Arbitrations: Tools & Practical Guide for 2016 and Beyond LIVE Webcast. This event is scheduled for Tuesday, September 13, 2016@ 12:00 pm -2:00 pm (ET).

For further details, please visit:

https://theknowledgegroup.org/all-events-list/live-webcasts/event/?ID=finra-arbitrations-tools-practical-guide-for-2016-and-beyond-live-webcast

Guest Post by Expert Terry Long

After reading last week's blog by Geoff Winkler, I wanted to add several points based on my experience that I thought would be of value to any reader seeking to understand the annuity marketplace. Protecting elder investors should continue to be a major concern for regulators, and I think it is more important than ever for the features of variable annuities to be understood by those selling and those buying the product (especially elder investors). Based on my experience, three additional items were often considered and discussed during the sale of these products when considering variable annuities as an alternative to mutual funds:   

Bates Group's Energy, Oil & Gas professionals have worked with financial services companies and their legal counsel to provide market, product and operational expertise in regulatory investigations involving energy-related issues, as well as in litigation settings.