FINRA Unscripted

Last week, FINRA CEO Robert Cook spoke to an audience of regulators, academics, law enforcement agencies, advocacy groups and financial firms at a conference hosted by the FINRA Foundation to underscore the importance of working together to disrupt the cycle of fraud. He highlighted specific areas for further coordination and announced that FINRA will reach out operators of existing regulatory databases to explore ways to create a one-stop shop resource for investor research. On this episode, we tune in to his remarks. Resources mentioned in this episode: Full Text of Speech As Prepared for Delivery Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

FINRA’s Examinations team carries out one of FINRA’s core functions in the examination of FINRA member firms. In an effort to continuously improve the program, the team has undertaken changes to create efficiencies before, during and after the exam process. On this episode, Michael Solomon, executive vice president of Examinations and the Membership Application Program, Tom Mellett and John Martino, both vice president of Firm Group Examinations, join us to detail some of the recent changes, including the introduction of thematic reviews, changes to the post-exam closeout process and more. Resources mentioned in this episode: Episode 132: The Ins and Outs of FINRA’s Annual Program 2024 Regulatory Oversight Report Targeted (Sweep) Exam Letters Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

FINRA’s Membership Application Program (MAP) team serves as the first point of contact for firms looking to enter the broker-dealer industry. It works both to protect investors by ensuring would-be member firms meet FINRA standards of admission, and to help new and existing firms grow and evolve, ensuring a vibrant market for all. On this episode, Cindy Foster, Vice President of MAP, joins us to share more about FINRA standards of admission and how the group works to ensure a smooth process for both current and prospective member firms. Resources mentioned in this episode: Member Application Rules Broker-Dealer Registration FINRA Standards for Admission Episode 117: Reviewing and Approving Digital Asset Firms MAP Tools and Videos MAP FAQs Checklist for Mandatory Materiality Consultation Residential Supervisory Locations (RSL) FAQs Phone: 212-858-4000, option five Email: MAPintake@finra.org Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

Last summer, we introduced listeners to FINRA’ Crypto Hub and enterprise-wide strategy for keeping up with the evolving crypto asset regulatory landscape. A year later, this remains an important area of focus for investors, the industry and FINRA. On this episode, Jamie Udinson, senior director of the Cyber and Analytics Unit, Michael Yuan, a director with FINRA’s Risk Monitoring program, and Jason Stralka, an examination manager with the Exam program, join us to provide an update on FINRA’s crypto asset work, to dig into the results of a recent survey of member firms regarding their crypto-asset touchpoints, to tell us about the new spot Bitcoin ETP market and more. Resources mentioned in this episode: 2024 Regulatory Oversight Report: Crypt Asset Developments Crypto Assets Key Topic Page Episode 136: An Introduction to FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work and the Crypto Hub Episode 137: The Crucial Role of FINRA’s CAI Team Episode 138: FINRA’s Blockchain Lab Episode 145: An Update on FINRA’s Crypt Asset Targeted Exam Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

FINRA's Financial Intelligence Unit acts as a nerve center for information on emerging threats impacting the financial industry with the aim of providing actionable intelligence to firms, other regulators and law-enforcement to keep investors safe. On this episode, Blake Snyder, senior director of FIU, joins us to share how the group has grown and matured over the last few years and how they are evolving the way they share information, including through the introduction of the new Threat Intelligence Products, or TIPs. Resources mentioned in this episode: Episode 33: AML in the Securities Industry Episode 86: Introducing FIU TIP: Protecting Vulnerable Adult and Senior Investors Investor Insight: Pig Butchering Scams Investor Insight: Ramp-and-Dump Scams Regulatory Notice 22-25 National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA) Infraguard FIU@finra.org Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

Financial social media influencers—or finfluencers—are growing in popularity as a cheap way to reach a new generation of investors. But using these individuals to promote a firm its products or services comes with risks, as revealed by the results of a recent targeted review of FINRA member firm practices in the space. On this episode, Ira Gluck, senior director of Advertising Regulation, and Melissa Turitz, a director with FINRA Enforcement, dig into the results of the finfluencer target review, the risks and regulatory requirements around this newer form of advertising and share some best practices for firms looking to make use of social media influencer programs. Resources mentioned in this episode: Reg Notice 17-18: Guidance on Social Media and Business Communications February 2023 Finfluencer Sweep Update Rule 2210 – Communications with the Public Press release – March Finfluencer Enforcement Action April Finfluencer Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) Gen Z and Investing: Social Media, Crypto, FOMO and Family (Research Report) Episode 134: A Look at the Attitudes and Behaviors of the Youngest Investors Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

In late May, certain amendments to FINRA's margin rule, Rule 4210, went into effect to address a significant source of potential systemic risk and risk to FINRA member firms. The amendments introduced specific margin requirements related to covered agency transactions. On this episode, we talk to David Aman, senior advisor, and James Barry, director of Credit Regulation, both with FINRA's Office of Financial and Operational Risk Policy, and with Michael MacPherson, a senior advisor with Member Supervision’s Risk Monitoring team, to learn more about the purpose of the rule, which firms might be impacted by the change and what those firms need to think about to ensure compliance with the amended rule. Resources mentioned in this episode: Contact: coveredagencymargin@finra.org Key Topics: Margin FAQs Regarding Covered Agency Transaction Margin under FINRA Rule 4210 Reg Notice 23-14: Amendments to Covered Agency Transaction Requirements Under FINRA Rule 4210 Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

Protecting investors from harm is a top FINRA priority. And when it comes to specific individuals who may pose a risk, FINRA's High Risk Representative (HRR) Program is on the case. On this episode, Brooks Brown, Senior Director, and Eric Hebert and John Salerno, Investigative Directors, from the HRR unit join us to explain how they identify and monitor individuals who pose an elevated risk of misconduct to protect investors and maintain the integrity of the market. Resources mentioned in this episode: Episode 114: Bringing Cases Against Individual Brokers Episode 150: A Cybersecurity Update with FINRA’s Complex Investigations and Intelligence Team (CII) Key Topic: Protecting Investors from Misconduct Virtual Conference Panel: Supervision of High-Risk Activities Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

Every day, FINRA's Insider Trading Detection Program uses sophisticated technology and analytics to monitor 100% of trading in stocks, options and bonds for potentially suspicious activity around material news events, resulting in hundreds of referrals to the SEC and law enforcement every year. On this episode, we hear from Sam Draddy, a Senior Vice President of the Market Abuse Unit within FINRA's Market Regulation and Transparency Services, and Karen Braine, Vice President of the Insider Trading Detection Program, about how they connect trading data, information from public sources and from companies and FINRA firms to pull together actionable intelligence. Resources mentioned in this episode: Episode 23: Insider Trading: Finding the Needle in the Haystack Blog: FINRA Plays a Vital Role in Exposing Insider Trading SEC Litigation Release: Sean R. Steward et al. SEC Litigation Release: Andreas Bechtolsheim SEC Litigation Release: Joseph C. Lewis et al. Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

Senior investor protection has long been a priority for FINRA, and the Vulnerable Adults and Seniors Team (VAST) is at the forefront of FINRA's efforts in this space. On this episode, we hear from Brooke Hickman, Director of the Vulnerable Adults and Seniors Investigative Team, Mike Paskin, a manager with VAST Investigations, and Liz Yoka, a manager of the VAST Intake team, to hear how the groups work with individual investors, firms, states and other regulators to prevent and detect financial exploitation of senior and other vulnerable investors. Resources mentioned in this episode: 2024 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report Episode 72: Anti-Money Laundering and Elder Exploitation Episode 128: The 2023 Senior Investor Protection Conference Episode 105: The Essential Senior Investor Protection Tools: FINRA Rules 2165 and 4512 FINRA Securities Helpline for Seniors – 844-57-HELPS (844-574-3577) FINRA Key Topic Page: Senior Investors FAQ Regarding FINRA’s Rules Relating to Financial Exploitation of Seniors Trusted Contact Infographic Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

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 John Nachmann, Associate General Counsel with the Office of General Counsel's Regulatory Practice, to discuss what all market participants need to be thinking about and testing ahead of the transition. Resources mentioned in this episode: Episode 127: Understanding the Unique Risks of Every Firm DTCC: The Key to T+1 Success Blog Reg Notice 23-15: Regulation T and SEA Rule 15c3-3 Extension Technical Notice: T+1 Settlement Testing FINRA Margin Regulation FINRA Investor Insight: Understanding Settlement Cycles 2024 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

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 Cyber Threat Briefings (Next Briefing: April 22) Episode 112: Introducing FINRA’s Complex Investigations and Intelligence Team CISA Alerts and Advisories FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: Industry Alerts Reg Notice 21-29: Obligations Related to Outsourcing to Third-Party Vendors Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

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 Vice President of Surveillance and Market Intelligence, Jackie Perrell, a Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff for MRTS, and Steve Price, Senior Vice President of Market Investigations to learn how the MRTS team has realigned itself, allowing it to be more nimble in addressing and anticipating risks, to better leverage its data and more. Resources mentioned in this episode: 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report Feral Talib Named Executive Vice President and Head of Surveillance & Market Intelligence Episode 60: Greg Ruppert and the National Cause and Financial Crimes Detection Programs Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

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 and following developments in this space to learn how FINRA is looking at and thinking about generative AI when it comes to its own business and what it's looking at and seeing when it comes to firm use of these tools. Resources mentioned in this episode: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Securities Industry Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Investment Fraud Reg Notice 21-19: Obligations Related to Outsourcing to Third-Party Vendors Rule 3110: Supervision 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report 2023 Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence for Congress NIST: Artificial Intelligence Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

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 from Ritta McLaughlin, Director of Investor Education, Community Outreach, and Principal Research Analyst Olivia Valdes to learn more. Resources mentioned in this episode: Investors of Color in the United States (2024) Gen Z and Investing: Social Media, Crypto, FOMO, and Family (2023) Investors in the United States: The Changing Landscape (2022) New Accounts and the People Who Opened Them (2021) FINRA Investor Education Foundation Episode 134: Gen Z Investors Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

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 Report FINRA Enforcement Homepage FINRA Names Bill St. Louis as New Head of Enforcement FINRA Fines BofA Securities $24 Million for Treasuries Spoofing FINRA Expels Monmouth Capital Management Qualification Exams Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

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 Crypto Sweep Update FINRA Blog: An Inside Look into FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work Episode 136: An Introduction to FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work and the Crypto Hub Episode 137: The Crucial Role of FINRA’s CAI Team Episode 138: FINRA’s Blockchain Lab Rule 2210: Communications with the Public Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

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 from the 2024 report. Resources mentioned in this episode: 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report Reg Notice 23-20: Guidance and Resources Related to Regulation Best Interest Reg Notice 23-11: Concept Proposal for a Liquidity Risk Management Rule Reg Notice 21-35: Proposed Order Routing Disclosure Requirements SEC FAQ on Form CRS CAT NMS Plan Website Episode 136: An Introduction to FINRA’s Crypto Asset Work and the Crypto Hub Episode 137: The Crucial Role of FINRA’s CAI Team Episode 138: FINRA’s Blockchain Lab Episode 129: A New Twist on New Account Fraud Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

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 episode: Regulatory Notice 22-23 Rule 4370: Business Continuity Planning Rule 2040: Payments to Unregistered Persons Continuing Membership Application Resources FINRA Examination and Risk Monitoring Programs Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail

The small firm community, those firms with 150 or fewer registered financial professionals came together in October to discuss and engage on key areas of concern at the Small Firm Conference. On this episode, we go behind the scenes of this year's event to share with you the fireside chat between FINRA CEO Robert Cook and FINRA's Head of Member Relations, Kayte Toczylowski. Resources mentioned in this episode: FINRA Webinars FINRA Small Firm Conference Calls Office of Hearing Officers National Adjudicatory Council Small Firm Advisory Committee FINRA Board of Governors Conferences & Events Member Firm Hub Find us: X / Facebook / LinkedIn / E-mail