Products May 16, 2011

FINRA Expands BrokerCheck to Include Disciplinary Actions

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has created the Disciplinary Actions Online database, which allows investors to find disciplinary records of FINRA-registered brokers.
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Investors can search the discipline actions database by case number, document text, document type, action date (by date range), a combination of document text and action date, individual name and Central Registration Depository (CRD) number, or firm name and CRD number. The documents can be viewed online, printed, or downloaded as text-searchable PDF files. All services are free of charge.

Previously, the public had to contact FINRA to obtain copies of disciplinary actions. The new database makes available disciplinary action documents including Letters of Acceptance, Waivers and Consent (AWCs), settlements, National Adjudicatory Council decisions, Office of Hearing Officer decisions and complaints.

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FINRA’s BrokerCheck database – which profiles every FINRA-registered broker – will now link to disciplinary actions housed in the system, as it currently does for arbitration awards in the Arbitration Awards Online database. Beginning June 15, FINRA Monthly Disciplinary Actions will also link each write-up to its corresponding action in the database.

In 2010, BrokerCheck was used 17.2 million times, supplying the public with reviews of brokers or firm records, FINRA said. Investors can access BrokerCheck at www.finra.org/brokercheck or by calling (800) 289-9999.

Data & Research May 16, 2011

Majority of Employees Have Financial Stress

Eighty-six percent of employees surveyed by Financial Finesse said they have at least some financial stress.
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The survey found financial stress is heavily correlated with poor money management skills; however, those who report no financial stress and are doing a good job managing their day-to-day expenses, debts, and emergency savings accounts, are surprisingly lax about longer-term financial planning priorities, such as retirement planning. Sixty-seven percent of those who report having no financial stress indicate that they are not prepared for retirement, and less than half have drafted basic estate planning documents like wills and trusts to protect their assets.   

The key demographic groups most vulnerable to having financial stress are women (90% report having financial stress), employees ages 30-44 (89%), and middle-income Americans making between $60,000 and $74,999 per year (94%).  

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Married employees (85%) reported less stress than single employees (87%).

The full survey report is here.

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