There are good stockbrokers and bad stockbrokers. The good stockbrokers follow financial industry rules and protect the best interests of their clients. The bad stockbrokers look out for their own interests while breaking industry rules, which can cost their customers hundreds of thousands of dollars.
During the last five years, FINRA has taken notice and increased efforts to eradicate the industry of so-called bad brokers. In a recent speech at Georgetown University, the CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Robert Cook, announced that FINRA will increase enforcement efforts even more.
FINRA Has Already Banned Countless Bad Stockbrokers
Heightened enforcement efforts have already left a beneficial mark. Since 2012, largely due disciplinary actions, 40 percent of the industry’s “high-risk” firms no longer have their registrations. Since 2014, as a part of FINRA’s high-risk oversight program, nearly 120 brokers were barred from the industry, and more than 420 stockbrokers lost their affiliations with FINRA-registered firms.
Cook reiterated FINRA’s enforcement commitments with following demand: “Firms must do their part by, among other steps, reviewing their hiring practices, monitoring their brokers, improving supervisory systems and investigating red flags suggestive of misconduct.”
FINRA now has a unit dedicated to finding and tracking “high-risk” stockbrokers. The unit works with enforcement lawyers to speed up disciplinary actions against brokers and firms guilty of misconduct.
You Can Help the Industry of Bad Stockbrokers Too
If you lost money because of a bad stockbroker, you can try to get your money back. Your action will also bring a spotlight to the issue of investor abuse. With every stock fraud action filed, consumers send a message that there will be grave disciplinary consequences for broker misconduct.
Don’t let a corrupt stockbroker fool you into believing that he or she is acting in your best interests. If you suspect misconduct, the The Michael Brady Lynch Firm is here to help. Contact us now to review your situation. We will determine whether you have a viable claim to get your money back.