The Regulators Category

The organizations that regulate the financial services are there to make sure companies, advisors, and representatives adhere to the rules. They are supposed to identify the bad guys and jail them or kick them out the industry. But, don’t count on it! The SEC didn’t catch Madoff in almost 20 years and countless sales representatives have multiple client complaints on their records, but are still actively employed in the industry. The buck still stops with you when it comes to protecting your own assets.

By: Jack WaymirecloseAuthor: Jack Waymire Name: Jack Waymire
Email: jack@paladinregistry.com
Site: http://paladinregistry.com
About: Jack writes for the InvestorWatchdog website and Worth magazine. He worked in the financial services industry from 1976 to 2004. For twenty of those years he was the president of a Registered Investment Advisory firm and a Broker/Dealer. Jack is the author of Who's Watching Your Money? The 17 Paladin Principles for Selecting a Financial Advisor and is a co-founder of PaladinRegistry.com.See Authors Posts (87) | September 14, 2009 | The Politicians, The Regulators

Let’s face it, people who work for financial services companies are a lot smarter than people who work for the two primary industry regulators (SEC and FINRA).
But it doesn’t stop there. The SEC is controlled by politicians and the politicians cater to Wall Street special interests. The financial services industry spends $300 million per year [...]

By: Matthew Arndt, CFA, CPA, CFP | September 1, 2009 | Investor Information, The Politicians, The Regulators, Wall Street Ethics

Since it appears through sheer luck we have averted a complete meltdown of our financial system, U.S. lawmakers have grown complacent about passing any legislation to alter the way Wall Street and large financial institutions do business. Being susceptible to Wall Street lobbying, there is resistance on Capitol Hill to enact any meaningful financial-reform. We [...]

By: Jack WaymirecloseAuthor: Jack Waymire Name: Jack Waymire
Email: jack@paladinregistry.com
Site: http://paladinregistry.com
About: Jack writes for the InvestorWatchdog website and Worth magazine. He worked in the financial services industry from 1976 to 2004. For twenty of those years he was the president of a Registered Investment Advisory firm and a Broker/Dealer. Jack is the author of Who's Watching Your Money? The 17 Paladin Principles for Selecting a Financial Advisor and is a co-founder of PaladinRegistry.com.See Authors Posts (87) | August 30, 2009 | Ponzi Schemes, The Regulators

Bernie Madoff’s company was an SEC registered investment advisory firm when he voluntarily admitted he was running an illegal Ponzi scheme. He was not caught by a regulatory agency. In fact, being a regulated company may have helped him rip-off investors. They assumed he was legitimate because he was registered.
Why do so many bad [...]

By: Matthew Arndt, CFA, CPA, CFP | August 6, 2009 | Investor Information, The Politicians, The Regulators, Wall Street Ethics

Everything appeared to be going as planned for Bank of America with its settlement to the SEC until a U.S. federal judge decided to put the brakes on. Bank of America was hoping it could sweep this “minor inconvenience” under the rug for a mere $33 million. In an attempt to unveil the truth, Judge [...]

By: Matthew Arndt, CFA, CPA, CFP | August 5, 2009 | Investor Information, The Politicians, The Regulators, Wall Street Ethics

In a very dangerous development for investors, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is at risk of losing its independence as an autonomous accounting rulemaker for U.S. Companies. Currently, FASB answers only to the Securities and Exchange Commission, but members of Congress, banking regulators and banking trade groups are increasingly seeking influence over the entity [...]

By: Matthew Arndt, CFA, CPA, CFP | June 24, 2009 | The Politicians, The Regulators, Wall Street Ethics

In a story that has gone for the most part unnoticed, Citigroup and Bank of America, both of whom have received massive infusions of taxpayer money in the past year, are now scheming to get around the recent limits being placed on annual bonuses.  Both are expected to raise base salaries for investment bankers and [...]