Category Archives: Broker Consulting

Column: “Surprise! How Did Long-Forgotten, Minor Complaints Abruptly Appear on BrokerCheck?” – As seen on WealthManagement.com

On January 17, 2014, WealthManagement.com ran Patrick Mahoney’s editorial, Surprise! How Did Forgotten, Minor Complaints Abruptly Appear on BrokerCheck, as part of his periodic column, The Legal Rep.  A link to the article is available HERE.   In 2010, FINRA amended Rule 8312 to require information concerning minor historic customer complaints be added to BrokerCheck records. Customer complaints that […]

Column: “FINRA’s Proposed Changes to Broker Expungement” – As seen on WealthManagement.com

On December 11, 2013, WealthManagement.com ran Patrick Mahoney’s latest editorial,  FINRA’S Proposed Changes to the Broker Expungement Process, as part of his periodic column, The Legal Rep.  A link to the article is available HERE.   The article’s content is available below: In April 2012, FINRA released Regulatory Notice 12-18, which features FINRA’s proposed overhaul of […]

Column:”Petty Crimes on Broker Records – Can they be Expunged?” – As seen in WealthManagement.com

On November 22, 2013, WealthManagement.com ran Patrick Mahoney’s editorial Petty Crimes on Broker Records – Can they be Expunged?.  A link to the article is available HERE.   The article’s content is available below: FINRA rules require brokers to make extensive and often intrusive disclosures (vis-à-vis a broker’s Central Registration Depository (“CRD”) record) concerning their work and disciplinary […]

A Perfect Storm- The misperceived safety of fixed income markets and bond funds

Ben Bernanke’s recent statements that the end of the $85 billion per month spigot of cash that the Fed is contributing to the bond market is near, has sent bond and equity markets to some of their most volatile levels since the Credit Crisis.  Indeed, long term interest rates endured a 100 basis point increase […]

The Broker’s “Odds” of Earning Expungement

The first question brokers ask when contemplating whether or not to pursue expungement of an investor complaint from their publicly available Central Registration Depository (“CRD”) record is almost always, “What are the odds that I earn expungement?” Unfortunately, the answer to this question is an uninspiring, “It depends.” To contemplate why “it depends,” brokers must […]

Attorney Patrick Mahoney Quoted in Investment News Concerning Broker Disciplinary Records

In response to the SEC’s approval of FINRA’s request to share more information about brokers’ disciplinary records, Patrick Mahoney was featured in the Investment News article entitled: FINRA gets OK to share more info about reps’ disciplinary records. In short, the article highlights the fact that FINRA will now be making available even more detailed information […]

FINRA’s New Suitability Rule – Some Best Practices in Light of FINRA Rule 2111

Since FINRA implemented FINRA Rule 2111 (aptly named, the “Suitability Rule”) in July 2012, broker-dealers have been scrambling to update their internal systems and educate their brokers to prepare for the rigors of the rule change.  Indeed, the Suitability Rule creates a totally ambiguous (and borderline impossible) standard that brokers are expected to meet before he […]

FINRA Stock Broker Expungement –A flawed system of unavoidable conflict between investor, broker, and broker-dealer.

When an investor files a complaint against his or her stock broker and/or broker-dealer, the broker-dealer must disclose the allegations made in the complaint on the underlying stock broker’s Central Registration Depository (“CRD”) record.  These disclosures almost always become publicly available via FINRA’s BrokerCheck (” FINRA BrokerCheck“) system—an online database that provides information about current and […]