The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is continuing its efforts to investigate and enforce disciplinary actions against individual brokers and firms. Recently, FINRA has focused on financial advisors who fail to update their Form U4 disclosures in a timely and accurate manner, resulting in costly fines, suspensions, or other disciplinary actions. Let’s look at some of FINRA’s enforcement priorities to better understand how these issues could impact your professional standing.
What the FINRA Enforcement Team Does
One of FINRA’s main goals is to protect the public from fraud, loss, or other forms of misconduct. Their mission is to “dedicate our resources to bringing meaningful enforcement actions to correct wrongdoing and deter future misconduct and to rooting out the bad actors that pose the greatest risk of harm to investors and the markets.” Unfortunately, some of these efforts may unfairly target financial advisors and cause significant stress and anxiety as they participate in investigations and arbitrations involving inaccurate or false allegations.
Expanding the Scope of FINRA Investigations
In its efforts to crack down on professionals or firms engaging in fraud or other types of misconduct, FINRA announced that it launches investigations from a variety of sources, such as “examination findings, automated surveillance reports, filings made with FINRA, customer complaints, tips, and referrals from other regulators and FINRA departments.” This broad scope of sources means that exaggerated or inaccurate reports could prompt an investigation, leaving financial advisors vulnerable to lengthy, costly, and stressful legal battles.
Defending Your Career and Professional Reputation
If FINRA has notified you of an upcoming investigation, it’s natural to feel concerned and overwhelmed. However, you do not have to go through this challenging time alone. Enlisting the guidance of an experienced securities law attorney can provide you with the support and confidence you need to move forward. Together, you and your attorney can assess the situation and determine the most strategic course of action to obtain a favorable outcome.
If you are involved in an upcoming FINRA investigation, call Judex Law, LLC, today at (303) 523-4022 to discuss the situation with an experienced and friendly securities law attorney.
