Tim O'Connor's Blog

The past few years of unstable financial markets, while yielding fixed income products and declining interest rates, have seen an explosion of investment products.  Many of these investment products are structured or packaged investments, which do not have a readily-available market and which cannot be priced.  The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has addressed the […]

Professionals employed in the Financial Services Industry have led many initiatives in restoring transparency and honesty to the financial markets, thanks to protections afforded by the SEC’s recently-enacted whistleblower protection procedures.  Investment and financial professionals faced with the stressful situation of reporting securities law violations and other wrongdoing are afforded job protection, as well as […]

The heightened supervision of complex products: The preapproval of the products after the exercise of reasonable due diligence and research, assessing the product for customer suitability. Post-approval review to monitor the product for their performance for purposes of a continuing, ongoing suitability assessment. Training of Registered Representatives to assure their knowledge of such products, as […]

Regulatory Notice 12-50 defines other alternative order types, such as a “stop quotation order” or “stop quote order” or an alternative order type that triggers transactions using a quotation at the stop price, which requires separate written disclosures to the customer in paper or electronic form prior to the placement of such alternative orders, including […]

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved amendments relating to stop orders in customer accounts, with an effective date of January 21, 2013.  This Regulatory Notice addresses new FINRA Rule 5350 (Stop Orders), which replaces the stop order provisions of FINRA Rule 6140(h).   Many investors have been lulled into a sense of false security […]