FINRA Compliance Podcasts

More than 15,000 different stocks, options and bonds trade every day across millions of transactions. When it comes to detecting insider trading, it really is like finding a needle in a haystack. But that’s exactly what Sam Draddy and his team in the Office of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence group do. Learn how in this episode of FINRA Unscripted.

Contrary to popular belief, many millennials aren’t too keen on robo-advisors and would actually prefer to work with a professional—but don’t feel confident enough to know where to begin. In this episode, Gerri Walsh and Gary Mottola of the FINRA Foundation rejoin us to turn some of the myths from “Uncertain Futures: Seven Myths about Millennials and Investing” into actionable information.

When Bari Havlik joined FINRA as Executive Vice President of the newly named Member Supervision team, she did so with big plans for the examination and risk monitoring programs. In this episode, Bari shares her vision for the future and how her background in compliance has shaped her views.

In an era when much of our lives happen online, cybersecurity is more important than ever. But what do you do to protect your personal information? We all have a role to play in keeping ourselves secure. This National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, tune in to learn more about how you can keep yourself, your family and your clients safe online.

Millennials are on the cusp of surpassing Baby Boomers as the largest adult generation in America, yet they remain substantially under-invested. The FINRA Foundation and CFA Institute teamed up to investigate why. Today, Gerri Walsh and Gary Mottola join us to discuss their recent report, "Uncertain Futures: Seven Myths about Millennials and Investing," and uncover the misconceptions and roadblocks millennials face in their path to becoming investors.

Looking to break into the financial services industry? It is about to get easier. On October 1, 2018, FINRA will launch the Securities Industry Essential (SIE) exam, a new exam that will test concepts fundamental to the securities industry. And you don’t have to be associated with a financial firm to take it! Today, we are joined by John Kalohn, FINRA’s Vice President of Testing & Continuing Education, whose insights might just help you ace the SIE exam.

In episode 13, we sat down with Tom Gira and learned how his team use machine learning to sift through billions of market events each day to detect misconduct. But FINRA isn’t just keeping that data for itself, it is sharing it with financial firms to strengthen regulatory compliance across the industry. Today, Gira joins us once again to share how his team is using the data to foster fairer markets.

An economist and a lawyer walk into a room. This isn’t the start of a bad joke, it’s an integral part of FINRA’s rule making process. At FINRA, economists and lawyers work closely together to ensure that FINRA’s rules are as effective and as tailored as possible. In this episode, Phil Shaikun from FINRA’s Office of General Counsel, and Jonathan Sokobin, FINRA’s Chief Economist, explain how the process works.

How are financial regulators keeping up with the newest fintech developments and predicting their impact on the financial industry? Last year, FINRA launched the Innovation Outreach Initiative to address this very issues. In this episode, Haime Workie and Kavita Jain talk about the initiative itself and share their insights on the fintech innovations that are driving market activity around the world.

What are the principles that guide FINRA’s decision making when it comes to taking Enforcement action? That’s the question that’s been on the mind of FINRA’s head of Enforcement, Susan Schroeder, since she took on the role in mid-2017. In this episode, Susan rejoins us to discuss how getting back to basics is helping her build a more effective Enforcement team.

In episode 12 we sat down with Steve Randich and learned how the cloud provides FINRA with the storage space and computing power to process up to 101 billion market events in a single day. Today, we sit down with FINRA’s head of Market Regulation and Transparency Services, Tom Gira, to hear how the cloud and machine learning enable his team to more efficiently and effectively sift through this massive amount of data to detect misconduct.

FINRA now has more than 30 petabytes of data in the cloud—to put that into the context of MP3 music files that would be about 60 million years of easy listening. In this episode, FINRA’s Chief Information Officer Steve Randich joins us to discuss how the use of the cloud has fundamentally changed FINRA’s technology strategy.

What is FINRA’s Dispute Resolution forum? How might I end up with a case in arbitration or mediation? What does the process look like? FINRA’s Head of Dispute Resolution, Rick Berry, answers these questions and more in this episode of FINRA Unscripted.

FINRA can’t predict the future, but like a weatherman, it can make predictions based on circumstances that exist today. FINRA’s Office of Emerging Regulatory Issues (ERI) looks to predict what storms may be brewing in the securities market and what areas they are likely to impact.

Consistency and foreseeability: that’s what any regulator strives for. But when FINRA CEO Robert Cook asked around, he heard that wasn’t always the case—particularly when it came to two different enforcement teams. That’s why FINRA’s Susan Schroeder has taken on the task of bring together these two teams into One Enforcement. Here’s how she’s doing it.

“Can we make a difference? Can this actually work?” Those are the questions FINRA’s Yvette Panetta and her team asked themselves when they launched the Securities Helpline for Seniors. Three years later, the answer to both questions is clearly yes. Since April 2015, FINRA’s Senior Helpline has helped nearly 13,000 senior investors with everything from simple questions, such as “how do I find out more information about my broker,” to serious concerns, including potential broker misconduct...

Senior investors may have unique needs that elevate the need for expedited attention with securities brokerage concerns. For three years, FINRA’s Securities Helpline for Seniors has been working to address those needs. Here’s how.

Do you show your true self at work? Or do you censor your emotions and self-expression to align with your work’s established environment? If you censor yourself, you’re not alone. Now imagine an organization where you could bring your “100 percent authentic self” to work. FINRA’s Audria Lee explains that if diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being invited to dance. FINRA strives to achieve both because both are essential to an organization’s long-term success. Diverse...

Diversity and inclusion are good for business. The financial services industry may not be known for its diverse workforce or inclusive culture, but FINRA is aiming to change that perception. Hear FINRA leaders share strategies and actions you can take to drive a more diverse and inclusive workplace.

About 70 percent of Americans expect to receive a tax refund this year. If you are one of them, FINRA’s senior vice president of Investor Education Gerri Walsh has some tips on how you can put that cash to work for you. Watch: Listen: