Integro Private Wealth’s Post

REGULATION UPDATE: The financial advisory industry’s regulatory landscape has a profound impact on advisers’ choices, and the shift from a FINRA-member broker/dealer to the RIA model is driven by stark regulatory differences. FINRA, known for its stringent oversight, has traditionally operated under a suitability standard, providing investments’ appropriateness for clients. However, this standard did not explicitly require advisers to act in their clients’ best interests at all times. Recent years have seen FINRA adopt Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), aiming to align recommendations with clients’ best interests. While well-intentioned, Reg BI compliance can impose heavy administrative burdens, complicating advisers’ adaptability to market changes.

In the past 30 days or so, the #IPO began issuing #NOITs (Notices of Intent to Terminate) to regional centers that failed to pay the Integrity Fund fee for FY2023 or FY24. Many RCs are struggling to deal with this, but there are good reasons USCIS should allow late payment and exercise enforcement discretion not to terminate. There are a number of arguments available to fight these NOITs: ▪ Enforcement discretion. USCIS has the enforcement discretion to extend the Integrity Fund fee deadline and forgo termination of a regional center that has missed the payment. This discretion is supported by longstanding case law--in fact, USCIS exercised that discretion when it extended the Integrity Fund payment for FY2023. ▪ Claims processing rule vs. jurisdictional rule. The deadline for the Integrity Fund fee is a claim-processing rule, not a jurisdictional rule, allowing for modification in the interests of justice and at the agency’s discretion. Statutory language using "shall" does not remove USCIS's discretion to forgo enforcement, as confirmed by various court rulings such as Heckler v. Chaney. ▪ Confusion in the Integrity Fund rollout. USCIS's rollout of the Integrity Fund provision created confusion about payment deadlines due to delayed and unclear guidance. This confusion was exacerbated by inconsistent use of terms like “fiscal year” and lack of clear deadlines. ▪ Promotion of Statutory Purposes. Allowing late payment of the Integrity Fund fee aligns with the statutory purposes of preventing fraud, promoting investment, and job creation. Terminating regional centers for missed payments due to USCIS's confusing guidance would reduce funds for enforcement and negatively impact job creation and investors. ▪ Notice and Opportunity to Cure. Termination would be improper because USCIS did not provide actual notice and an opportunity to cure the failure to pay, as Congress required in drafting the RIA. USCIS (unsurprisingly) botched its rollout of the Integrity Fund provisions, and RCs that were victims of the confusion the IPO generated are putting up a fight. Will be interesting to seee how this plays out over the coming months. Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli and Pratt P.A. looks forward to continuing to fighting this issue on behalf of affected RCs.

A good summary article regarding the recent propositions by the Regulators regarding prudential aspects of firms. Take a look below:

We would like to alert you to two clarifications regarding the regulatory status of two specific entities. Hemingway Investments LLC and the brand ‘Hemingway’ are not incorporated in the DIFC nor authorised by the DFSA to carry on Financial Services or make Financial Promotions in or from the DIFC. Despite claims suggesting otherwise, there is no company called ‘Hemingway’ incorporated in the DIFC or authorised by the DFSA. Find more information here: https://lnkd.in/djEqbZaU Similarly, Falcon Global Capital Limited is the only entity under the name ‘Falcon’ licensed by the DFSA to carry on Financial Services in or from the DIFC since 11 March 2022. No other entity operating under the name ‘Falcon’, including Falcon Assets Capital Investments LLC and Falcon Co., is licensed by the DFSA. Find more information here: https://lnkd.in/dwUpnPqV Previous DFSA clarifications can be found on this page: https://www.dfsa.ae/alerts Please check the DFSA’s Public Register: https://lnkd.in/esk86JpM) before engaging in any financial services with a firm or individual. If you have concerns about the authenticity of any correspondence or documents which claim to be issued by the DIFC, DFSA, or a DFSA-regulated firm, contact the DIFC on +971 4 362 2222 and the DFSA here: https://lnkd.in/em9Q_ujY

Gadens Partners Matthew Bode, Kelly Griffiths, Michael Kenny, Sinead Lynch, Daniel Maroske, Kate Mills, and Caroline Ord discuss the news from the financial services regulatory sector in the latest Regulatory Recap. This edition of the Gadens Regulatory Recap highlights recent developments from ASIC, APRA, OAIC, ACCC, and Treasury including various enforcement actions taken by the regulators. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gVcvdgUr #auslaw #regulation #compliance If you found this insight article useful and you would like to subscribe to Gadens' updates, click here: https://lnkd.in/gwqNGne

The FCA and PRA are proposing crucial updates to prudential frameworks, aiming to bolster consumer protection and market integrity. Here’s a snapshot: ▪️ Prudential Assessment of Acquisitions & Control: CP25/23 outlines changes to replace old EU guidelines, emphasising key areas like qualified holdings identification and assessment criteria for control notifications. The consultation period closes on the 23rd of February 2024. ▪️ Capital Requirements for Personal Investment Firms: CP23/24 targets PIFs, urging them to set aside capital for potential redress liabilities early on. This move aligns with the FCA's focus on consumer protection post-Consumer Duty implementation. ▪️ Immediate Action Required: Firms must assess their financial resources, handle complaints diligently, and notify the FCA promptly of any financial shortcomings or significant changes in business operations. ▪️ Increased Monitoring: The FCA will intensify scrutiny on firms seeking authorisation or cancellation in the PIF space to prevent evasion of redress liabilities. Learn more, read the full article and find out how #Complyport can help > https://lnkd.in/dBKuRTQp #FCA #PRA #FinancialRegulation #ConsumerProtection #MarketIntegrity #ConsumerDuty #Compliance #PIFs #RegulatoryCompliance #FinancialServices

The prudential net is tightening as the FCA looks to ensure the longevity of firms and to protect consumers. Let us know if you have any questions. We're listening. #fca #compliance #monitoring #prudential #icara

The persecution of smaller Financial Planning businesses continues……we try to absorb as much of these additional costs as possible without having to pass them on to our clients but this along with the already increased costs of late is making it very hard to do so. Way to go for making Financial Advice more affordable.

8 MPs have written to the Chancellor about investigating The FCA's failings to investigate the collapse of WealthTek in 2023 - BUT they are not going far enough. There needs to be a complete independent review of the FCA as we've been calling for since 2022 https://lnkd.in/eZN36r2G The Wealthtek collapse left an £81m shortfall in client money, even though the FCA had been contacted by a whistle-blower 2 years previously. And what about the £450m Woodford scandal! Still no FCA report. And in the meantime Woodford and partner Newman go uncharged and have cushy jobs at specialist fund manager Juno Capital! We warned MPs now calling for compensation not to let the FCA bring in new compensation scheme which lets the regulator off the hook if their regulatory failings are not the primary contributor (which is most likely never going to be the case) but they failed to listen - and here we are! https://lnkd.in/e8KXYm3q #fundmanagement #investing

Here’s an article I wrote on one of the latest FCA consultation papers impacting relevant financial adviser firms. Happy to discuss any thoughts or questions. https://lnkd.in/eHmKbmPS