17 January 2018
By Ellen BessnerThe main focus of most advisors is building their businesses. This task has been made more difficult now with the increased pressure from other hungry advisors and the emergence of robo-advisors. Thus, advisors tend to forget that there’s an even bigger threat that they need to attend to: unforgiving and aggressive regulators.
17 December 2017
By Ellen BessnerIf there’s one New Year’s resolution advisors should make, it’s the need to strike the right balance between following their entrepreneurial spirit and protecting themselves from regulatory risk. That’s because advisors, as entrepreneurs, tend to favour the old bottom line, paying less attention to compliance obligations, thus risking their licences, reputation and businesses in the process.
19 November 2017
By Ellen BessnerDespite the recent proliferation of digital asset-allocation services (a.k.a. robo-advisors), they pose little threat to human financial advisors.
22 October 2017
By Ellen BessnerIf you have clients for whom you serve more than one member of their family, do you know these clients well enough to detect a conflict of interest? If you studied the Conduct and Practices Handbook course and all other materials available, would you be able to learn what to look for?
24 September 2017
By Ellen BessnerAdvisors and dealers need to be on red alert for client instructions that might later lead to trouble, including having to write a big cheque or answer to regulators. Thus, you need to be mindful of how to detect such trouble before it occurs and what to do if something just doesn’t seem right.
27 August 2017
By Ellen BessnerAdvisors place themselves at great risk when they’re given the account passwords for — and, in turn, access — clients’ and other investors’ discount brokerage accounts. Specifically, advisors expose themselves to penalties, reputational damage and potential termination of employment.
30 July 2017
By Ellen BessnerMany advisors are under the mistaken belief that it’s good advice for elderly clients to move their assets into a joint account with their ultimate beneficiary in order to avoid probate fees after they pass away. However, these advisors may be ill informed and could be exposing themselves to liability if they make such a recommendation.
3 July 2017
By Ellen BessnerIn more than 25 years of defending companies and individuals in the financial services sector during regulatory proceedings and litigation, I have seen reputations ruined overnight. One client complaint, one regulatory proceeding, one court proceeding, one article in the newspaper or one bad employee or client can cause a securities dealer, insurance company, advisor, portfolio manager or insurance agent to lose their otherwise squeaky clean reputation.
5 June 2017
By Ellen BessnerThis is the final column in a three-part series on being prepared and cautious when faced with a potential compliance breach. This column looks at the importance of providing thoughtful, written responses when being investigated for a compliance breach. The first column explained how it’s crucial to never go into a meeting cold when being interviewed for any compliance infraction. The second column focused on how to prepare for an interview with your compliance department, the regulator or counsel for a complaining client.
8 May 2017
By Ellen BessnerThis is the second in a three-part series on being prepared and cautious when faced with a potential compliance breach. This column is about how to prepare for an interview with your own compliance department, the regulator or counsel for a complaining client. The first column explained how it’s crucial to never go into a meeting cold when being interviewed for any compliance infraction. The third column, to be published on June 5, will be about the importance of thoughtful email exchanges and the preparation of other written documents pursuant to an investigation into a potential compliance breach.