News & Events –

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.

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. 

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. 

Variable Annuities (“VAs”) are attractive to many investors that would traditionally invest in mutual funds because they offer three distinct features unavailable in mutual funds: tax-deferred treatment of earnings; a death benefit; and annuity payout options that can provide guaranteed income for the life of the investor.

Last week we discussed the background and recent history of the SEC’s Rules of Practice (“Rules”). This week’s blog is Part 2 of this topic, which will focus on the reforms to the Rules and their impact on defendants. 

In Part 1, we will review the background and recent critiques of the Rules of Practice that govern Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") administrative proceedings. In part 2, we will then look at the reforms, newly approved by the SEC, to these proceedings and discuss their impact.

Historically, when a financial advisor or “broker” left a firm, they had to decide between leaving their clients behind or taking them to the new firm and risking a lawsuit from their former employer. 

We had originally planned to continue our discussion on the dangers of employee theft of trade secrets in part two of last week's blog. However, due to the unprecedented and largely unexpected result of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union, we have decided to push back part two until next week and instead focus on this historic event.

As a fraud and forensic expert, I am often confronted with the challenges companies face with employee theft. Preventing the theft of trade secrets often requires the implementation of systems that will restrict and/or deter employees from even trying to take information with them when they leave. But how are financial services companies managing this process in a highly mobile workforce?

The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) plans to issue its long-anticipated fiduciary rule by April 2017, according to a proposed rule posted on the Office of Management and Budget website on May 18th of this year.

On June 8th - the same day that President Barack Obama vetoed legislation that would have vacated the Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule - the American Council for Life Insurers (ACLI), the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) and six NAIFA chapters from Texas filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Crowdfunding is the practice of raising funds from a large number of people, often in small amounts. Historically, it is best known as a way for political candidates to raise funds from their supporters. Recently, crowdfunding has been associated with companies using internet portals such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo to raise funds or accept donations in order to launch a new product or support an idea.

Last week, we discussed various estimates of the financial impact of elder investor abuses and began examining what is being done to address this significant problem. We will pick up today at that same point.