2025 was a year of contradictions: explosive AI adoption with no governance, softer regulatory tone with unchanged rules, and rising innovation alongside rising risk. In this episode, Red Oak’s thought leaders break down what really happened in 2025—and why 2026 will demand faster, smarter, connected ways of working across compliance, marketing, distribution, and supervision. From AI auditing AI to the coming wave of retrospective enforcement, this conversation makes one thing clear: firms that stay siloed won’t survive what’s next.

This episode unpacks FINRA’s latest National Financial Capability Study, revealing major shifts in investor risk appetite, information sources, and expectations. It highlights how these trends are playing out across Red Oak’s platform and what financial firms must do to support advisors and investors in a fast-changing landscape.

FINRA is reimagining regulatory oversight through generative AI — from market surveillance to compliance tools like FILLIP. In this episode, we unpack how these innovations are reshaping compliance expectations and what firms can do to stay ahead.

Explore the SEC’s 2026 examination priorities shaping the financial industry’s next chapter, from heightened scrutiny of AI and automation to new demands for documented resilience across cybersecurity, data governance, and operational risk. Hear how firms can adapt to rising expectations for transparency, oversight, and proof of control in an era of accelerating complexity.

Listen to our key takeaways from the 2025 NSCP National Conference, highlighting the compliance industry’s most pressing challenges, from shifting regulator relationships and looming leadership gaps to mounting burnout risks. 

In this episode we explore the complex regulatory challenges presented by financial influencers, or “finfluencers,” in the financial services industry. The democratization of financial advice through social media introduces significant risks due to finfluencers often lacking qualifications and making non-compliant statements. We discuss FINRA's increased scrutiny and provide detailed guidance for firms, emphasizing the necessity of robust monitoring systems to ensure disclosures, avoid promissory statements, and maintain clear, accurate messaging. Finally, we addresses the difficulties firms face in tracking diverse and frequently updated content across multiple platforms, underscoring the need for automated solutions like Red Oak's monitoring system to prevent regulatory penalties and reputational damage.