On May 28th, U.S. markets are moving to a one-day settlement cycle, familiarly known as T+1. This move, which returns the settlement time frame back to a point at which it last stood a century ago, will have wide ranging impacts for firms, investors and regulators.  On this episode, we hear from James Barry, Director of Credit Regulation with FINRA's Office of Financial and Operational Risk Policy, Bobby Gomez, a Senior Director with Market Regulation and Transparency Services' Strategic Initiatives team, Mike MacPherson, a Senior Advisor in Member Supervision's Risk Monitoring group, and ..read more

These days, it's not a matter of if, but when, when it comes to cybersecurity incidents, which is why it's essential for all firms to ensure they're prepared for the inevitable.  On this episode, we're catching up with Bryan Smith, the new senior vice president of FINRA’s Complex Investigations and Intelligence (CII) team and Brita Bayatmakou, vice president of the Cyber and Analytics Unit within CII, for an update on CII, the cyber threat landscape and what firms should be thinking about and doing in response to the latest trends. Resources mentioned in this episode: FINRA's FBI Cyb ..read more

U.S. financial markets today are not what they were ten years ago, five years ago, or even just a couple of years ago. Over the years, FINRA's Market Regulation and Transparency Services (MRTS) team successfully grew and evolved to meet the changing demands of the markets they oversaw. But recently, the group took time to ask, how would we build this team if we were starting from scratch? And the answer to that question involved redesigning the group structure around specific functions, rather than around specific rules or products.  On this episode, we hear from Feral Talib, Executive Vi ..read more

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLM) are taking the world by storm, presenting numerous opportunities to create business efficiencies. While the new technologies offer many potential benefits to firms, regulators and investors, they also introduce unique risks.  On this episode, we hear from Brad Ahrens, senior vice president of Advanced Analytics, Andrew McElduff, vice president with Member Supervision's Risk Monitoring team and Haime Workie, vice president and head of FINRA's Office of Financial Innovation, who are closely looking at these technologies ..read more

The FINRA Investor Education Foundation has released a new report, Investors of Color in the United States, examining the behavior and attitudes of investors of color based on data from the FINRA Foundation's National Financial Capability Study coupled with a series of focus groups conducted with young Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and Asian American/Pacific Islander investors.  The report shows interesting trends related to the pace at which these investors are entering the market, their views on risk, where they're receiving information and more. On this episode, we hear more ..read more

FINRA Enforcement works tirelessly on the front lines of investor protection, whether looking into cases of fraud or ways that bad actors try to manipulate the markets. This tremendous undertaking demands steadfast leadership.  On this episode, we meet Bill St. Louis, the former head of FINRA’s National Cause and Financial Crimes Detection Program and FINRA's new Executive Vice President and Head of Enforcement, to learn more about the man at the helm and what's on the horizon for Enforcement in the new year. Resources mentioned in this episode: 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Repo ..read more

FINRA recently wrapped up a targeted review of the practices of certain member firms when it comes to communicating with retail investors regarding crypto products and services. On this episode, Ira Gluck, Senior Director, Advertising Regulation at FINRA, joins us to share the results of that crypto asset communications sweep that began in November 2022. Resources mentioned in this episode: Advertising Regulation Department Crypto Asset Communications Targeted Exam Letter Crypto Asset Key Topics FINRA Blog: An Inside Look into FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work Episode 136: An Introduction to FINRA’s C ..read more

As a self-regulatory organization, information sharing is key to FINRA's pursuit of its mission of investor protection and market integrity, and no single resource is a better example of that than FINRA's Annual Regulatory Oversight Report.  On this episode, Ornella Bergeron, Senior Vice President of Risk Monitoring, Omer Meisel, Executive Vice President of the National Cause and Financial Crimes Detection Program, Claire O'Sullivan, Vice President and Regulatory Advisor of Stakeholder Engagement, and Michael Solomon, Senior Vice President of Examinations, join us to discuss highlights fr ..read more

Succession planning, catastrophe planning, contingency planning--whatever you want to call it, these plans are important not just for customers and registered representatives but can even be a matter of life or death when it comes to the continued existence of a firm.  On this episode, we talk to Jeanette Wingler, FINRA’s Special Assistant to the CEO, and Elena Schlickenmaier, a Senior Principal Analyst in Member Supervision, to dig into Regulatory Notice 22-23 on succession planning to hear how and why firms should plan for the expected and unexpected in life. Resources mentioned in this ..read more

Forget ghosts and goblins, few things are as scary as household finances for U.S. adults. In a recent nationally representative survey, more than 1,000 adults shared what worries them most in their lives. The most common answer? Money.  On this episode, we sit down with Gerri Walsh, the head of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, to discuss the recent survey and its findings, while also providing tips and resources to help make money a little less spooky. Resources mentioned in this episode: Investor Resources and Tools FINRA Foundation Homepage Consumer Insights: What really spooks ..read more