More On Legal & Compliance
from The Advisor's Professional Library- Client Commission Practices and Soft Dollars RIAs should always evaluate whether the products and services they receive from broker-dealers are appropriate. The SEC suggested that an RIA’s failure to stay within the scope of the Section 28(e) safe harbor may violate the advisor’s fiduciary duty to clients, so RIAs must evaluate their soft dollar relationships on a regular basis to ensure they are disclosed properly and that they do not negatively impact the best execution of clients’ transactions.
- The Custody Rule and its Ramifications When an RIA takes custody of a client’s funds or securities, risk to that individual increases dramatically. Rule 206(4)-2 under the Investment Advisers Act (better known as the Custody Rule), was passed to protect clients from unscrupulous investors.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced Monday that it has hired Robert L. D. Colby as its chief legal officer to oversee the corporate and regulatory functions of the Office of General Counsel, along with the Regulatory Policy Group, which, in part, is responsible for implementing FINRA's Corporate Financing and Advertising rules.
Colby, who is currently a partner in the Washington office of Davis, Polk & Wardwell focusing on regulatory and compliance matters involving securities and derivatives, will join FINRA on June 18.
"Bob is a perfect match for this key position and an excellent addition to our management team," said Richard Ketchum, Chairman and CEO of FINRA, in a statement. "Bob's unparalleled expertise in both regulatory and corporate law makes him uniquely suited to be FINRA's first chief legal officer."
Before joining Davis Polk, Colby spent 28 years at the Securities and Exchange Commission, most recently as deputy director of the Division of Trading and Markets. He also served as the chief counsel of Trading and Markets and chief of the division's Branch of Market Structure.
FINRA's general counsel, Grant Callery, who joined FINRA (then the National Association of Securities Dealers) in 1979, has announced he will retire Oct. 1. Marc Menchel, general counsel for regulation, is leaving FINRA June 1 and returning to the private sector. "I want to thank Grant and Marc for their extraordinary service to the organization, especially their work around the consolidation agreement between NASD and NYSE Member Regulation, which led to the creation of FINRA in 2007," Ketchum said.
