News & Events

Bates Managing Director Linda Shirkey will be serving as a facilitator at a Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) Compliance Workshop for FINRA-registered broker-dealers, SEC-registered investment advisers, and dual registrants on Tuesday, February 11, 2020, from 2:30 – 5 p.m. at the UT McCombs School of Business’ Center for Enterprise and Policy Analytics in Austin, Texas.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an Annual Report to Congress highlighting the past year’s BSA and AML efforts and setting out strategic priorities and policy initiatives for the new year. The Comptroller says he wants to reduce the burden of BSA and AML compliance, while protecting the financial system. Bates Research takes a closer look at the OCC report and other recent AML-related developments.

Bates AML and Financial Crimes Managing Director Edward Longridge will be a panelist at SIFMA's Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Conference, February 5-6, 2020 in New York, NY. Bates Group is proud to be a returning sponsor and exhibitor at this year's event.

Bates Group is proud to welcome new Managing Director Jennifer L. Cunningham. She is an accomplished and seasoned financial services professional with over 20 years of experience in broker-dealer branch office management, risk and supervision, suitability, operations, sales support, Human Resources and customer communications. A former Director at UBS in New Jersey and New York City and former Vice President at the Merrill Lynch Fifth Avenue flagship office, Ms. Cunningham comes to Bates from another consulting firm, where she provided expertise in support of broker-dealer litigation and customer complaint matters, prepared FINRA broker-dealer New Member Applications, and served as lead project manager for specialized regulatory and compliance consulting retentions.

In his cover note accompanying FINRA’s annual Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities letter, FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook reminded members of significant enhancements to the examination program going forward. Bates Research has analysis, commentary and highlights of FINRA’s continuing and emerging concerns, along with our 2020 FINRA chart, which keeps track of articulated priorities from year to year.

Understand what Reg BI requires now — and what more you must implement before the final deadline. Download our new white paper: "SEC’s Regulation Best Interest Perspectives on Firm Compliance."

The SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") set out their 2020 examinations priorities in an annual report issued last week. The report reminds registered entities that all its priorities are within the SEC’s mandate to protect investors, facilitate capital formation, and maintain fair, orderly and efficient markets. The report is, in effect, a notice to the industry and chief compliance officers to address potential vulnerabilities in compliance programs and practices in order to minimize retail investor and market risks. Bates Research takes a closer look.

Bates Group Expert and Consultant William Jannace is quoted in a new article from Investment News. The article discusses FINRA's interest in brokerage bank sweep accounts at a time of low commissions for brokers.

Read the full article at Investment News.

Bates Compliance Managing Director Robert "Bob" Lavigne will be a featured speaker at the SIFMA Regulation Best Interest Vendor Forum, January 16, 2020 in New York, NY.

FINRA has announced their regulatory and examination priorities for the upcoming year. New for this year is a focus on Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) and Form CRS (Client Relationship Summary).

Bates Group continues to track a host of issues affected by the adoption of Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”), the 2019 package of rules and interpretations from the SEC setting standards of conduct for broker-dealers and independent advisers. These include a variety of state responses to the federal regulation, as well as Reg BI impacts on issuers of other complex financial products sold through brokers and advisers, specifically, recommendations to consumers on transactions involving annuity products. This week, Bates Research takes a look at some of the latest developments by the Massachusetts Securities Division and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”).

The SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations has announced their exam priorities for the upcoming year. Stay tuned to the Bates News page in the upcoming weeks for our expert commentary on the SEC's 2020 objectives

Bates Group is pleased to announce the acquisition of The Advisor's Resource, Inc. (TARI), a leading compliance consulting firm based in Houston, Texas. Veteran compliance leader and TARI Founder & President Linda Shirkey will join Bates Group, along with Shelley Dragon, TARI’s director of client service, as members of the Bates Compliance team. The acquisition further expands Bates Compliance with greater access and resources to service Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs), as well as private equity and hedge fund firms across the United States.

Last month, we reported on FINRA's announcement that they will be conducting SEC Reg BI readiness assessments to better understand companies' Reg BI implementation preparations. Bates Compliance helps firms achieve Reg BI readiness.

Meet Bates Compliance Leaders Bob Lavigne and Jill Ehret at the FINRA 2019 Regulation Best Interest Conference, December 18, 2019 in Washington, D.C.

A key to understanding new BSA guidance on the “legal status of commercial growth and production of hemp” can be found in provisions of the Farm Bill signed into law in December of last year. That legislation distinguished and removed hemp (though not marijuana) as a controlled substance under law, and interim rules, issued by the USDA in late October 2019, established a federal licensing approval plan that allows state departments of agriculture and tribal governments to submit plans for monitoring and regulating hemp production. Given this context, the Federal Reserve Board, the FDIC, FinCEN, the OCC and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors issued a statement clarifying BSA obligations under these new USDA interim rules. Bates Research takes a closer look.