Legal & Compliance

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  House Passes SEC Cost-Benefit Bill

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  May 17, 2013

  Planning groups are at odds over a bill that passed the House on Friday requiring the SEC to conduct more rigorous cost-benefit analyses before making rules.

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  Giachetti: Don’t Listen to the Kool-Aid Compliance Salesmen

  By John Sullivan, AdvisorOne  |  May 17, 2013

  If you like your compliance talk spiced up with frankness and salty language, Tom Giachetti of Stark & Stark is your man.

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  Schwab Backs Off on Class-Action Ban—for Now

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  May 17, 2013

  Charles Schwab on Thursday said it would lift a ban on client class-action suits until all legal and regulatory challenges were resolved.

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  Why the CFP Board’s Proposal to Offer CE Is Wrong

  By Michael E. Kitces  |  May 17, 2013

  In the first in a series of posts on the CFP Board’s proposal, an argument (from planners themselves) as to why it’s not a good idea and a look at the current, somewhat woeful, state of continuing education for CFPs.

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  SEC, FINRA Enforcement Roundup: Husband and Wife Divert Funds to Buy Home

  By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne  |  May 16, 2013

  The SEC filed charges against a husband and wife, who are executives of China-based RINO International Corp., and FINRA fined and censured Deutsche Bank Securities for reporting failures.

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  FSI Backs Bill Requiring SEC Cost-Benefit Analysis

  By James J. Green, AdvisorOne  |  May 16, 2013

  H.R. 1062 would require SEC to conduct cost-benefit analyses before instituting rules. The White House opposes the measure.

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  House Bill to Require SEC, DOL Fiduciary Collaboration

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  May 16, 2013

  But SEC’s Mary Jo White maintains SEC and DOL are "two different agencies"; says more exam "coverage" is needed for advisors.

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  IRS Scandal Has Charities Worrying About ‘Collateral Damage’

  By Michael S. Fischer  |  May 16, 2013

  Charitable nonprofits worry that investigations revving up in Washington over the IRS' targeting of conservative groups will further delay applications for tax-exempt status and impede their activities.

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  Dale Brown: The 2013 IA 25 Extended Profile

  By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne  |  May 16, 2013

  When reminded that this is the seventh year that he’s been named to the IA 25, Dale Brown was quick to give kudos to his entire team, noting that the Financial Services Institute’s success doesn’t hinge on his abilities alone.

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  Stop Denying Investor Rights: End Forced Abitration Now

  By Heath Abshure, NASAA President  |  May 16, 2013

  For too long, investors have been forced to "take it or leave it" by mandatory pre-dispute arbitration clauses. The time is now for this denial of investor rights to end, which is why NASAA supports the Arbitration Fairness Act.