FINRA Unscripted

Contrary to popular belief, many millennials aren’t too keen on robo-advisors and would actually prefer to work with a professional—but don’t feel confident enough to know where to begin. What does that actually mean for young, would-be investors?

On episode 19, Gerri Walsh and Gary Mottola of the FINRA Foundation joined us on the first part of this two-part series to discuss these and other misconceptions and roadblocks that millennials face in their paths to becoming investors as revealed by the new study, "Uncertain Futures: Seven Myths about Millennials and Investing." In this second part of the series, Gerri and Gary are back to turn some of those myths into actionable information.

If you haven’t yet started investing because you have too much debt, you lack confidence or don’t even know where to begin, stay tuned, because Gerri and Gary have tips for you on this episode of FINRA Unscripted.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Uncertain Futures: Seven Myths about Millennials and Investing

CFA Institute

BrokerCheck

IRAs 101: What You Need to Know

Investor.gov

FINRA.org – Prepare to Invest

The True Value of Time for Young Investors

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When Bari Havlik joined FINRA as Executive Vice President of the newly named Member Supervision team, she did so with big plans for the examination and risk monitoring programs.

After a more than 30 year career in compliance with the last 14 years spent as a chief compliance officer, Bari joined FINRA with a unique perspective on what FINRA could do to better leverage its staff and its talent and skills—while also eliminating duplication and improving the examination and risk monitoring experience for firms.

In this episode of FINRA Unscripted, Bari joins us to share more about her vision for the future of FINRA’s exam and risk monitoring programs.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Program Transformation Announcement

FINRA360 Progress Report

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In an era when much of our lives happen online, from banking to social media, cybersecurity is more important than ever. And we all have a role to play—not just in keeping ourselves safe, but also our employers and customers.

As we become more connected, we also must also become more vigilant. But what do you do to remain secure? Whether you are a broker, an investor or just simply an internet user, we’ve got tips for you on this episode of FINRA Unscripted.

In honor of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Barry Suskind and Eugene Mindel of FINRA’s Cyber and Information Security team join us to provide resources and best practices for keeping you, your family and your clients protected while online.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Cybersecurity Resources

Small Firm Cybersecurity Checklist

Fake Phishing, Real Benefits

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Millennials are on the cusp of surpassing Baby Boomers as the largest adult generation in America. Yet the soon-to-be largest generation in the nation remains substantially under-invested.

Why? That is the question the FINRA Foundation and CFA Institute teamed up to answer. What they learned about this avocado toast eating, "I still live with my parents," social media-fueled FOMO generation might surprise you.

Today, Gerri Walsh and Gary Mottola join us for part one of a two episode series to discuss the misconceptions and roadblocks millennials face in their paths to becoming investors. In part one, Gerri and Gary debunk some of the most common myths about Millennial investors and could-be-investors as revealed by the new study, "Uncertain Futures: Seven Myths about Millennials and Investing."

Are you a millennial with an uncertain financial future? A financial professional looking to expand or better serve your Millennial clients? Then tune in to this episode of Unscripted and gain insight into the minds of the soon-to-be largest and most under-invested generation in America.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Uncertain Futures: Seven Myths about Millennials and Investing

National Financial Capability Study

CFA Institute

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Looking to break into the financial services industry? It is about to get easier.

On October 1, 2018, FINRA will launch a new exam that consolidates the fundamental knowledge shared across several of FINRA’s existing Series exams into a single Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam. Additional “top-off” exams, such as the Series 7, will be trimmed down to focus only on the specific knowledge needed for that qualification—eliminating overlap in licensing exams and creating a more efficient program.

And the biggest change: you don’t have to be associated with a financial firm to take the SIE exam.

So get your number two pencils ready and tune in to this episode of Unscripted, where John Kalohn, FINRA’s Vice President of Testing & Continuing Education, joins us to provide insight that just might help you ace the SIE exam.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Registered Representatives Brochure

SIE Exam Content Outline

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When you are growing up, you learn “sharing is caring.” At FINRA, Tom Gira’s Market Regulation and Transparency Services team takes that to heart when it comes to their surveillance data.

In episode 13, Gira explained how the cloud and machine learning enable his team to sift through massive amounts of data–we're talking up to 101 billion market events in a single day–to detect misconduct. In this episode, we learn that Tom and his team aren't just keeping that data to themselves; they are sharing it with financial firms to help them better achieve and monitor compliance with FINRA rules.

Learn how FINRA’s rapid remediation program and industry report cards are helping to foster stronger, fairer markets in this episode of FINRA Unscripted.

Report Center

Sweep Letter: Order Routing Conflicts

Pricing Disclosure in the Fixed Income Markets

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Schoolhouse Rock taught us how a bill up on Capitol Hill becomes law. Unfortunately, they never got around to explaining how a FINRA rule proposal becomes regulation.

In this episode, Phil Shaikun from FINRA’s Office of General Counsel and Jonathan Sokobin, FINRA’s Chief Economist, fill that gap and explain how lawyers and economists are working together to ensure FINRA’s rules are as effective and as tailored as possible.

Plus, Shaikun and Sokobin give an inside look into how the FINRA Retrospective Rule Review process works, how rules are selected for review and the myriad of possible outcomes.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Retrospective Rule Review

SEC Federal Register

FINRA Advisory Committees

Special Notice on Engagement

Regulatory Notice on Membership Application Process (Comments due October 5, 2018)

Regulatory Notice and Comments on Outside Business Activities

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Financial technology (fintech) has revolutionized the financial industry. Need proof? Just ask yourself: when was the last time you went to a bank to deposit a check?

From digital banking and mobile trading apps to Venmo, cryptocurrencies and blockchain, fintech has changed the way we manage our money and investments and the ways in which financial services companies reach and interact with their customers.

So how are financial industry regulators keeping up with the newest developments and predicting their impact on the financial industry and possible regulation? For FINRA, the answer is the Innovation Outreach Initiative. In this episode, Haime Workie and Kavita Jain join us to talk about the initiative itself and share their insights on the fintech innovations that are driving market activity around the world.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Fintech @ FINRA

Know Before You Share: Be Mindful of Data Aggregation Risks

Initial Coin Offerings: Know Before You Invest

Report on Digital Investment Advice

Report on Distributed Ledger Technology

FINRA Unscripted Episode 10: Introducing ERI

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What are the principles that guide FINRA’s decision making when it comes to taking Enforcement action? That’s the question that’s been on the mind of FINRA’s head of Enforcement, Susan Schroeder, since she took on the role in mid-2017.

One of the first things Schroeder did in her new role was to get right down to basics and define what an effective Enforcement action looks like – to identify clearly her team’s common goals. She wanted to ensure everyone in the group was asking the same questions and considering the same factors in the same way on every case, every day.

In this episode, Susan rejoins us to discuss how getting back to basics has helped her build a more effective Enforcement team.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

FINRA360

Sanction Guidelines

SIFMA AML Speech

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