Law Commons^™

Gamestopped: How Robinhood’S Gamestop Trading Halt Reveals The Complexities Of Retail Investor Protection, Neal F. Newman

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law

Should brokers have the unfettered right to restrict investor trading? GameStop, a brick-and-mortar video game retailer, had been experiencing declining revenues since 2016. However, GameStop saw its share price climb almost 1000 percent in the span of a one- week period from January 21, 2021 to January 27, 2021 due to retail investors buying significant amounts of GameStop shares during that period. Melvin Capital, a hedge fund, ended up losing billions as they were betting that GameStop shares would lose value instead of increase—a practice referred to as short selling. On January 28, 2021, brokers inexplicably halted trading on GameStop …

Supervision And Compliance Of Brokerage Firms, Christine Lazaro

Faculty Publications

Supervision is a cornerstone of broker-dealer regulation. It serves a number of important goals: primarily ensuring that the firms follow the governing rules and regulations so that investors can have confidence in the firms with which they do business. Unfortunately, FINRA supervision rules often do not set out specifically how a firm is to supervise its brokers. This article will set forth the general supervision rules governing brokerage firms, as well as the rules that govern specific behavior and conflicts.

Aml In The Spotlight: Compliance Risks For Broker-Dealers And Investment Advisers, John H. Walsh, Cecilia Baute Mavico

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

In light of regulators' renewed attention, this article discusses recent events, reviews AML enforcement actions against securities firms, and identifies the compliance risks they suggest. The article concludes that the time has come for broker-dealers and advisers alike to take a holistic view of compliance and their AML risks, and to prepare for enhanced oversight and regulation.

A Broker-Dealer's Civil Liability To Investor's For Fraud: An Implied Private Right Of Action Under Section 15(C)(1) Of The Securities Exchange Act Of 1934, Charity Scott

Charity Scott

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Arbitrator Background And Representation On Arbitration Outcomes, Adam C. Pritchard, Stephen J. Choi, Jill E. Fisch

Articles

We study the role of arbitrator background in securities arbitration. We find that several aspects of arbitrator background are correlated with arbitration outcomes. Specifically, industry experience, prior experience as a regulator, and status as a professional or retired arbitrator are correlated with statistically significant differences in arbitration awards. The impact of these characteristics is affected by whether the arbitrator in question serves as the panel chair and by whether the parties to the arbitration are represented by counsel. Our findings offer some preliminary insights into the debate over possible arbitrator bias. On the one hand, they suggest that the party …

Opening The Floodgates Of Small Customer Claims In Finra Arbitration: Finra V. Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Teresa J. Verges

Articles

No abstract provided.

Advising The Individual Investor: Comparing The Federal Regulation Of Investment Advisers, Banks, And Broker-Dealers, Alan M. Ahart

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Changing Mosaic In Sec Regulation And Enforcement: Broker-Dealers And Investment Advisers, Douglas M. Branson

Articles

The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act directed the SEC to study the issue of whether the Commission should, by regulation, decree broker-dealers (“registered representatives”) subject to the same fiduciary standards applicable to investment advisers, applicable at least since SEC v. Capital Gains Research Bureau, 385 U.S. 180 (1963). The SEC completed such a study in 2011, predictably recommending that the Commission exercise the authority Dodd-Frank had given it, namely, waving its wand, declaring brokers fiduciaries. Many able academics and regulators have adumbrated the pros and the cons of such a regulatory step. To date, however, the SEC has done nothing, undoubtedly …

Fiduciary Duty - Now And In The Future, Christine Lazaro

Faculty Publications

(Excerpt)

The celebrated jurist Benjamin Cardozo opined that the fiduciary duty is “the duty of finest loyalty”, and that a fiduciary “is held to something stricter than the morals of the market place. Not honesty alone, but the punctilio of an honor the most sensitive, is then the standard of behavior.” The question most customers have is whether their broker is subject to this duty of finest loyalty, or if they are bound merely by the morals of the marketplace. Currently this is a very difficult question to answer, and will depend on whether the customer is dealing with a …

Fiduciary Obligations Of Broker-Dealers And Investment Advisers, Arthur B. Laby

Villanova Law Review

The article discusses fiduciary obligation that broker-dealers and investment advisers owe their clients. It addresses questions in ascertaining whether financial reform is needed. The fiduciary obligations imposed on brokers and advisers are examined. An analysis of whether fiduciary duties should be imposed on brokers providing advice is offered.

Banks And Brokers And Bricks And Clicks: An Evaluation Of Finra's Proposal To Modify The "Bank Broker-Dealer Rule", Jill I. Gross

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

As discussed in this article, the proposed rule change protects bank customers who may be solicited for the purchase of investment products and services, but only to a limited extent. It does not rectify sales practices of broker-dealers--affiliated with financial institutions--which tend to confuse, and even mislead, financially unsophisticated investors of modest means who can least afford to be exposed to excessive risk. Additionally, the proposed rule change adds no meaningful surveillance, inspection, enforcement, or punitive mechanisms to prevent and/or redress insidious practices that are akin to “bait and switch” tactics and are particularly effective against financially unsophisticated investors. In …

Broker-Dealer Sales Practice In Derivatives Transactions: A Survey And Evaluation Of Suitability Requirements, Daniel G. Schmedlen, Jr.

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Broker-Dealer's Civil Liability To Investor's For Fraud: An Implied Private Right Of Action Under Section 15(C)(1) Of The Securities Exchange Act Of 1934, Charity Scott

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Maintenance Of Market Strategies In Futures Broker Insolvencies: Futures Position Transfers From Troubled Firms, Andrea M. Corcoran, Susan C. Ervin

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Conversion Of Customers' Property By Securities Professionals: The Applicabilty Of Rule 10b-5 In The "Contraction Era"

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Introducing Brokers Under The Commodity Exchange Act: A New Category Of Commodity Professionals, Don L. Horwitz, David J. Gilberg

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Banker's Adventures In Brokerland: Looking Through Glass-Steagall At Discount Brokerage Services, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Several banks have recently entered or announced their intention to enter the discount brokerage business, and the Federal Reserve Board is considering a rule listing discount brokerage as an acceptable bank holding company activity. The securities industry has contested this entry, asserting that the Glass-Steagall Act requires separation between investment and commercial banking. Though the Act does mandate some division between the two lines of business, this Note argues that bank discount brokerage services do not violate the Act. Part I examines the competing "accommodation" and "agency" interpretations of the relevant statutory sections, concluding that the agency interpretation, which permits …

Securities Regulation - Breach Of Statutory Duty Of Inquiry Imposed By Section 17(A) Of Securites And Exchange Act Subjects Accountant To Liability As Aider-Abettor Of Securities Broker's Rule 10b-5 Violation, Philip G. Kircher

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.

Securities - Outsiders Who Trade On Inside Information Held Accountable To The Corporation For Their Profits On The Basis Of Common Law Fiduciary Principles, Timothy J. Carson

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Controlling Persons Provisions: Conduits Of Secondary Liability Under Federal Securities Law, Kenneth I. Levin

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sec Financial Requirements For Broker-Dealers: Economic Implications Of Proposed Revisions, James F. Mofsky

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Decline Of The Purchaser-Seller Requirement Of Rule 10b-5, Edward J. Ciechon Jr.

Villanova Law Review

No abstract provided.