FINRA Unscripted

Latest Episodes:

CRD Transformation: Enhancing the Registration & Disclosure Process Mar 05, 2019

Show notes

FINRA’s Central Registration and Depository (CRD) system is the central licensing and registration system not just for FINRA, but also for U.S. securities exchanges and all 50 states . But the system is still partying like it’s 1999.

Twenty years after the CRD system’s last major update, FINRA is in the middle of a multi-year effort to overhaul the registration and disclosure system that is the backbone of the BrokerCheck, the free tool that allows investors to research the background of their financial professionals and firms.

On this episode of FINRA Unscripted, FINRA’s executive vice president of Registration & Disclosure, Derek Linden, tells us more about the transformation and what users can expect.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

CRD Transformation Website

Announcement: CRD Transformation

BrokerCheck

12: How the Cloud Has Revolutionized FINRA Technology

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The Annual Priorities Letter: A Fresh Take Jan 22, 2019

Show notes

The Annual FINRA Priorities Letter is a great resource for firms looking to improve their compliance, supervisory and risk management programs. But the 2019 Letter is a little different—this year focusing on materially new areas of focus so readers can better identify areas for program improvement.

On this episode of FINRA Unscripted, we’re joined by Bari Havlik, FINRA’s executive vice president of Member Supervision, Steve Polansky, a senior director in Member Supervision, and Gene DeMaio, a senior vice president of options regulation and the trading and financial compliance exam program, to learn more about the changes to the letter and to drill into a few key topics.

Stay tuned to hear more about new priorities such as fixed income mark-up disclosure and supervision of digital assets business, as well as some new takes on existing priorities, including suitability, best execution, market manipulation and more.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

2019 Priorities Letter

2018 Priorities Letter

2018 Exam Findings Report

Fixed Income Confirmation Disclosure FAQs

SEC Statement on Digital Asset Securities Issuance and Trading

SEC Issues Investigative Report on DAO Tokens

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Insider Trading: Finding the Needle in the Haystack Dec 04, 2018

Show notes

When it comes to detecting insider trading, it really is like finding a needle in a haystack with more than 15,000 different stocks, options and bonds trading every day across millions of transactions. Yet, Sam Draddy and the Insider Surveillance team in the Office of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence manage to find those needles.

The Insider Surveillance team does it by combining a lot of data—20 years’ worth of data on thousands of actively traded bonds, stocks and equity options—with a mix of sophisticated surveillance technology and good old-fashioned detective work.

On this episode of FINRA Unscripted Sam Draddy walks us through the process. Plus, he shares details of some of the most interesting cases of his career and attempts to answer the real question: why do people do it?

Resources mentioned in this episode:

SEC’s Edgar Database

Pro Golfer Agrees to Repay Trading Profits

SEC’s Perk Hixon Case

Did Somebody Just Eat a Post-It?

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The New SIE Exam: Opening Doors to the Securities Industry Sep 25, 2018

Show notes

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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