Edward Scarillo

View the full bio for Edward Scarillo at the Faegre Drinker website.

Articles by Edward Scarillo:


You Made the List: SEC’s Spring Agenda Would Impact Broker-Dealers

The SEC’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs recently released the Spring 2023 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions (the Agenda). The word salad of a title hints at the fact the SEC is considering a plethora of new rules. Indeed, many of the new rules, if finalized, would impact broker-dealers (BD) and investment advisers (IA).  Below are some of the notable proposed rules of which to take stock:

Registration Requirements: The SEC is “recommending that the Commission propose amendments to the exemption for internet advisers from the prohibition against registration under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.” These are colloquially referred to as robo-advisors.

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New Year’s Priorities: FINRA Releases its 2023 Report on its Examination and Risk Monitoring Program

Yes, (somehow) it is that time of year again. FINRA recently released its 2023 Report on its Examination and Risk Monitoring Program (the “Report”). As is typical (and this blog has well-covered), it contains a mix of old and new priorities.

Priorities Previously Included: Reg BI and Form CRS, Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT), Cybersecurity, Mobile Applications, Best Execution

New Priorities: An entire new category labeled Financial Crimes, Manipulative Trading, Fixed Income – Fair Pricing, Fractional Shares: Reporting and Order Handling, Regulation SHO

In general, FINRA breaks down the Report into five Categories: (1) Financial Crimes; (2) Firm Operations; (3) Communications and Sales; (4); Market Integrity; and (5) Financial Management. Within these categories, FINRA highlighted certain discrete topics. We discuss FINRA’s highlighted topics at greater length below.

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Having a Senior Moment

In connection with the 2022 SIFMA C&L Seminar, the Best Interest Compliance Team submitted a white paper entitled “Having a Senior Moment: Recent Legislation and Rules to Protect Seniors from Financial Exploitation,” that was made available to conference attendees on a mobile app.

As its title suggests, our paper covers recent laws and regulations passed to protect senior investors. We specifically cover: (1) the Senior Safe Act, a law passed to provide immunity to financial institutions/advisors who disclose financial exploitations; (2) FINRA Rule 2165, which allows FINRA members to place temporary holds on the disbursement of funds or securities; (3) an SEC No Action Letter relating to FINRA Rule 2165; (4) FINRA Rule 4512, which requires member firms to make reasonable efforts to obtain a trusted contact person on customers’ accounts; (5) FINRA Rule 3241 which attempts to minimize conflicts where a registered person is named as a beneficiary or executor to their customer’s estate; and (6) “Report and Hold Statutes” that have been passed in a number of states and that require/encourage broker-dealers to report any suspicions of financial abuse. As part of our white paper, we also prepared a 50-state survey of the states that have passed Report and Hold Statutes.

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Exam Time: FINRA Releases its 2022 Report on its Examination and Risk Monitoring Program

A common phrase to abide by in the New Year is “out with the old, in with the new.” FINRA’s 2022 Report on its Examination and Risk Monitoring Program (the “Report”), however, contains a combination of old and new priorities. We previously previewed the Report.

Old priorities, once again included, are: Anti-Money Laundering, Reg BI and Form CRS, and cybersecurity.

New risk areas include: firm short positions and fails-to-receive in municipal securities; trusted contact persons; funding portals and crowdfunding offerings, disclosure of routing information; and portfolio margin and intraday trading.

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Brace for Impact: It’s Going to be (Another) Busy Year for FINRA

F. Scott Fitzgerald said “There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.” FINRA may be all of these in 2022, as FINRA CEO Robert Cook announced FINRA’s laundry list of priorities during a SIFMA Q&A last week. Below are some of the highlights from his Q&A.

Exam Time: Annual Exam and Risk Monitoring Findings

While Mr. Cook advised the “ink isn’t dry” on the 2022 priorities, he suggested broker-dealers can expect more of the same, with some new additions. New topics for examination will include: trusted contact person, disclosure of order routing, and intra-day trading.

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SLOW Your Roll: DOL Temporarily Halts Enforcement of Compliance with PTE and ERISA Fiduciary Obligations for Rollover Advice

Benjamin Franklin once said “don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” While that is always prudent advice, the Department of Labor (DOL) believes it’s best to grant an extension to investment advisors and broker-dealers to comply with the full terms of the Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2020-02 (PTE 2020-02), beyond the current December 21, 2021, deadline. A previous blog post covered the scope of the PTE and provided guidance on compliance.

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Risky Business: SEC Risk Alert Highlights Broker-Dealers’ Anti-Money Laundering Miscues and Encourages Firms to Beef Up Protection

Ben Franklin once said “by failing to prepare, you prepare to fail.” Based on the SEC’s latest risk alert concerning broker-dealers’ anti-money laundering (AML) compliance (or lack thereof), some firms would be well served to heed Mr. Franklin’s advice.

The SEC specifically seeks to examine broker-dealers’ compliance with the various regulations and laws governing firms’ AML obligations. The risk alert highlights the SEC’s observations relating to firms’ deficiencies concerning (a) AML policies and procedures and internal controls; and (b) suspicious activity reporting (SAR). The SEC’s emphasis on AML should come as no surprise, as the SEC has previously included it as an exam priority. FINRA has additionally provided broker dealers with extensive AML guidance.

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FINRA’s Focus on Variable Annuity Switches Continues

On January 8, 2021, without admitting or denying the findings, VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc., (VALIC) entered into a settlement with FINRA Enforcement, through an Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) where the factual allegation was that between January 1, 2017, and October 31, 2018, the broker-dealer failed to “establish a reasonably designed system and written supervisory procedures for the surveillance of rates of [Variable Annuities] exchanges and for corrective action in the case of inappropriate exchanges, in violation of FINRA Rules 2330(d), 3110, and 2010.” VALIC agreed to a censure and a $350,000 fine. See VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc. AWC No. 2018060548501.

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Reg BI Is Here. What’s the SEC Doing Now?

Reg BI has passed its compliance date of June 30, 2020. The SEC and FINRA have commenced examinations to test brokerage firms’ good faith compliance with Reg BI and Form CRS disclosure satisfaction. Our article “Have No Fear, Reg BI Is Finally Here” provides a brief overview of Reg BI and deciphers its implications for brokers and broker-dealers. It also provides an overview of a recent Risk Alert drafted by the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), and examines the SEC’s and FINRA’s review of Reg BI compliance.

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States Enact Good Samaritan Broker Laws

On January 22, 2016, the members of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) released the Senior Model Act.  It was developed and approved to serve as a model statute for states to adopt to target financial exploitation of seniors and to shield from liability brokers and brokerage firms who acted to assist those seniors. The Senior Model Act comports with a multitude of legislation and regulatory protection for seniors. Broadly stated, the Senior Model Act proposes language for legislation that would require “qualified individuals” such as broker-dealers and investment advisers, and those who work in a supervisory or legal capacity for them, to report any suspicions of financial elder abuse. The Senior Model Act proposes the protection of “eligible adults,” defined as those over the age of 65.

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