Brokerage ‘Culture’ and the Challenges of Compliance
Compliance staffers have a tough job and risk personal liability when firms misbehave.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority recently announced that “culture, conflicts of interest and ethics” remain a priority of its brokerage examinations this year…
An Inconvenient Observation About Fiduciaries
An obligation to put clients’ interests first doesn’t guarantee that financial advisers will do the right thing
Years ago, my team left a large brokerage firm for the greener pastures of a fee-only registered investment adviser. While soliciting a client to follow, I explained that RIAs are fiduciaries, obligated to put the interests of their clients first.
Your Big Signing Bonus, Your 12-Year-Old Brain
This is a WSJ column that I wrote for financial advisers. I’ve quoted a business psychotherapist, who makes some really interesting observations about how people make decisions under pressure. My favorite quote from him: “The 12-year-old version of you can get you into all kinds of trouble.”
Three Tempests Roiling Wealth Management
If you listen carefully, if you pause and remain very still and tilt your head at just the right angle, you might notice the calm before the storm of clients moving assets.
Norb Vonnegut
The New York Times describes my novels as “money porn,” “a red-hot franchise,” and “glittery thrillers about fiscal malfeasance.” Through fiction I explore the dark side of money and the motivations of those who have it, want more, and will steamroll anybody who gets in their way.