BrokeAndBroker.com Blog by Bill Singer Esq WEEK IN REVIEW

October 5, 2019

Getting the Girl to Do It On Wall Street (BrokeAndBroker.com Blog)
http://www.brokeandbroker.com/4837/finra-awc-assistant
As I see the guts of FINRA's regulatory settlement, it's largely about "getting the girl to do it." Given the sexual politics on Wall Street and in Wall Street's branch offices, the overwhelming majority of these assistants-as-impersonators cases involve superiors (frequently male) "directing" "instructing" "permitting" or "requesting" their underlings (frequently women) to engage in misconduct in violation of the employer's and/or FINRA's rules and regulations. FINRA should see the bigger picture and better comprehend the subtle pressure exerted. It's shameful that there isn't so much as a word of disapproval in the AWC about the stockbroker's interactions with his subordinate, female assistant. As depicted in the AWC, she is of no concern to Wall Street's powerful self-regulatory-organization. She is afforded all the empathy that would be given to an office vending machine. Do as directed. Perform as instructed. No matter the nature of the task. Just when the hell will FINRA step forward and protect the industry's less powerful and powerless?

http://www.brokeandbroker.com/4836/insecurities-aegis-frumento/
So this is where liberal elites make common cause with arch-Trumpistas. Political leanings have nothing to do with it. When it came to their kids, the liberals and the Trumpistas resorted to crime with equal alacrity. None of them, when the cause was sufficiently noble, let little things like laws and norms stand in their way. So what moral standing do any of them have to criticize President Trump for asking a favor in return for military aid? When they decided that it was ok for them to commit crimes for the good of their own kids -- others' kids (the non-cheating applicants) be damned -- they did in their small way what the Donald has always done in his bigly way. They flock together, whether they realize it or not.

Another Obituary for Wall Street (BrokeAndBroker.com Blog)
http://www.brokeandbroker.com/4835/schwab-zero-commissions/
On May 1, 1975, the United States stock market ended some 180 years of fixed-commissions on stock trades and entered the era of discount commissions. Much of the credit for that historic transformation goes to Charles Schwab, who founded the brokerage firm that bears his name in 1971 and fought a virtually one-man war against fixed commissions.  Some predicted the death of Wall Street within a few years of 1975.  Nearly half a century later, Wall Street survives, albeit, some would argue, on life support. On October 1, 2019, Charles Schwab & Co. went to the zero-commission model. That move may be the final nail in the coffin of Wall Street's FINRA model of retail broker-dealers. Here we go again. 

http://www.brokeandbroker.com/4834/securities-industry-commentator/
Featured in today's Securities Industry Commentator is an astounding 20 cases involving Wall Street's criminal, regulatory, and compliance scene. As prosecutors and regulators end their fiscal year, the rush is on to close 2019 matters. And what a rush it is! A one-day plethora of perfidy!!  Presented for your consideration are matters involving theft, fraud, Ponzi schemes, scams, crimes, cover-ups, obstruction, broker dealers, stockbrokers, associated persons, whistleblowers, terminations, discharges, RIAs, IARs, SEC, DOJ, FINRA, Blockchain, Bitcoin, ICO, Internet, Infomercials, Binary Options, Hedge Fund, Funds, Arbitration, and Cattle. It's a world of fraud and crime and plain-old misconduct.

http://www.brokeandbroker.com/4833/SEC-Beazer-Rand/
The SEC suspended a felon's ability to practice before it as a CPA, which was his chosen profession until he ran afoul of the law. He argues that he poses only a negligible risk to the public and should not be suspended by the federal regulator. It may well be that this convict will overturn his conviction, which is what he seems to be actively pursuing these days. Personally, I don't think he stands a chance, but, hey, if he's innocent, I wish him all the best with his appeals-- after all, I remember all too well the trials and tribulations of poor Andy Dufresne!