According to a recent investmentnews.com article the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) “is warning firms about the use of designations implying special expertise in working with older investors.”
FINRA performed a survey in 2011 about the use of “senior designations.” They surveyed 157 firms that varied in terms of “size, location, product mix and business model” and found that “responses point to widespread use of senior designations in the broker-dealer community.” FINRA found that 68% of the firms said that they allowed the use of “senior designations” by their registered representatives.
The FINRA survey uncovered that the use of these “senior designations” by firms varied widely and that they were often not as meaningful as it seems FINRA would like. FINRA’s report on the survey stated that, “the survey indicated that some supervisory procedures were not particularly discerning regarding the quality of the designations that registered persons were permitted to use.” FINRA indicated that the majority of the firms “require, at a minimum, registered persons to obtain prior approval or to use only designations that have been pre-approved by the firm.” However, they also found that overall “some supervisory procedures were not particularly discerning regarding the quality of the designations that registered persons were permitted to use.”
FINRA continues to find ways to attempt to protect retired and elderly investors from being taken advantage of by fraudsters and financial professionals alike. FINRA’s report on the survey outlined some appropriate practices with relations to the “senior designations” and “…encourages firms to consider implementing…” them.
The White Law Group is dedicated to investor protection and all too often speaks to retired investors who have suffered as a result of securities fraud and/or the unethical practices and unsuitable recommendations of their financial professional.
If you believe you have been the victim of securities fraud and would like to speak to a securities attorney about your potential to recover investment losses please call our Chicago office at 312-238-9650.
The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Boca Raton, Florida.
For more information on The White Law Group, please visit our website at http://whitesecuritieslaw.com.
Tags: broker fraud, Elder Law, elderly investors, Financial Industry, FINRA, finra investor alert, FINRA senior designations, investor protection, retired investors, Securities Attorney, securities compliance, unethical practices Last modified: December 12, 2022
