Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (MSSB) is settling charges that it provided misleading information to retail clients in its retail wrap fee programs regarding trade execution services and transaction costs, and the firm will pay a $5 million penalty that will be distributed to harmed investors, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports. The commission’s… Read More >>
Members Exchange Wins SEC’s & BlackRock’s Approval
A securities exchange start-up, the Members Exchange (MEMX), is on a roll via new strategic financing led by asset manager BlackRock, following a key approval by the SEC. While the launch of its first transaction venue was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, MEMX officials want their venue to get underway during the third quarter of… Read More >>
Bloomberg Settles Charges It Misled Tradebook Customers
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed “settled charges” against registered broker-dealer Bloomberg Tradebook LLC, founded in 1996 but no longer in operation, for “making material misrepresentations and omitting material facts” about how the firm handled certain customer trade orders. Bloomberg Tradebook has agreed to be censured and will pay a $5 million dollar… Read More >>
Musings on the New Ops Normal to Come
The global pandemic lockdown has given most of us a time-out that allows us to step back and reconsider a variety of situations. My mind went to scenarios for securities operations, and here are some of my musings on what-if scenarios that could pave the way for permanent changes, once we get to a new, safer… Read More >>
SEC & Exchanges Clash Over Market Data Order
U.S. equities exchanges are pushing back on the SEC’s sweeping order directing them and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to improve the governance structure for public, consolidated equity market data and the distribution of trade and quote data from trading venues. The order is intended to change the balance of power among trading venues… Read More >>
NY State’s Cryptocurrency Task Force to Consider Regulation
With Wall Street and other industries in mind, the New York state government has set in motion the creation of a digital currency task force that will investigate legislative and regulatory recommendations, among other issues, for the burgeoning cryptocurrency marketplace and the growing usage of blockchain technology. The task force got its final approval late… Read More >>
DTCC Bolsters Support for SFTR Reporting via Partnerships
Financial services firms are gearing up for the reporting requirements of the Securities Financing Transaction Regulation (SFTR), and the DTCC is partnering with EquiLend, Trax, IHS Markit and Pirum to improve its global trade reporting capabilities before the SFTR rules take effect by the end of next year. Even though SFTR originated with the European… Read More >>
New SmartStream Team to Investigate AI for Ops
SmartStream Creates ‘Innovations Team’ SmartStream Technologies, which characterizes itself as a financial transaction lifecycle management provider, reports that its new “innovations team” is “working with financial institutions to optimise workflows, using Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and blockchain technologies, in the areas of reconciliations, cash management and fees and expense management.” The new… Read More >>
Startup Dakota Wealth Management Picks Pershing Advisor Solutions
New Firm Taps Pershing Advisor Solutions BNY Mellon’s Pershing Advisor Solutions has been picked as a custody partner for Dakota Wealth Management, a newly launched investment management firm. Dakota, headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, currently manages $600 million in client assets, according to a statement, which notes that the average registered investment advisor… Read More >>
Federal Reserve Kicks Off Volcker Rule Revamp
The Federal Reserve at its May 30 meeting unveiled changes to the controversial Volcker Rule — which prohibits proprietary trading and banks from owning hedge funds or private equity funds — in a move widely seen as a response to industry pressure and is in keeping with the will of the Trump administration. Fed officials… Read More >>
