FINRA Discloses Its September 2025 Disciplinary and Other Actions
The
self-regulatory body that monitors the conduct of financial professionals just
issued its results for last month. The following are just a sampling of the
summaries it provided:
Greenbird
Capital, LLC (CRD #306692, Boca Raton, Florida)
July
24, 2025 - An AWC was issued in which the firm was censured and fined $50,000.
Without admitting or denying the findings, the firm consented to the sanctions
and to the entry of findings that it lacked a system reasonably designed to
supervise solicitations of private placement offerings. The findings stated
that the firm’s written procedures did not prohibit registered...
COURT OF APPEALS REFUSES TO ENFORCE ARBITRATION PROVISION
Earlier
this year, the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s refusal to
enforce an arbitration provision within an operating agreement. Now we all know
that arbitration agreements are difficult to circumvent, so what happened in
this case?
The case is Disruption 8, LLC v. Vertical Enterprises, LLC. To keep it simple, the parties executed three
contracts, and only one of them contained an agreement to arbitrate. The
plaintiff alleged that the defendant breached one of the three contracts. But
the...
Are You A Financial Advisor With A Wrongful Termination or Defamation Claim?
Advisors terminated by their broker-dealer should immediately retain experienced legal counsel. The broker-dealer has 30 days after termination to file the mandatory U-5. Legal counsel can help you negotiate fair and accurate language for this critical and potentially public disclosure. Moreover, how the U-5 is completed above and beyond the narrative “reason for termination” can be pivotal. Many advisors fail to appreciate that, for the most part, their broker-dealer can terminate them without cause. But...
It’s 10 O’clock – Do You Know Who Your Beneficiaries Are?
Having a will
is an important step in directing what is to happen to your assets when you
die. Ensuring all of your accounts have current beneficiary information
properly submitted is also key. Financial accounts and insurance policies
provide the option to list beneficiaries. Even if you do not have a will (Call us!), you have the opportunity to add beneficiary information to your financial
accounts.
Estate of Finley v. Allen, 2024
WL 2484466 is a good reminder that the step of adding or updating
beneficiaries should...
DOES YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISER HAVE PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE?
Believe it
or not, your trusted financial adviser is only human. He or she can make a very
costly mistake despite his or her best intentions. Perhaps you have taken
comfort in the fact that your adviser, whether a registered representative or
an investment adviser representative, has a company with whom they are
affiliated. Surely the company has insurance, right? Well, I have more bad news
for you – that company might not have an errors and omissions policy either,
particularly if they are a small outfit.
Our advice is that you ask to
receive a copy of your advisor’s policy at the beginning of your relationship.
If your...