September 15, 2009
September 15, 2009
Ms. Florence E. Harmon
Deputy Secretary
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F. Street, N.E.
Washington, DC 20549
RE: FINRA 2009-050
Dear Ms. Harmon:
The purpose of this correspondence is to comment on FINRAs proposed expansion of BrokerCheck to permanently disclose the disciplinary histories of former financial advisors.
I am an attorney in private practice in the New York City metropolitan area, with a background working in a major broker-dealer's compliance/ legal department, NYSE Enforcement Attorney, and now representing aggrieved investors against broker-dealers and registered representatives and registered investment advisors for over the last sixteen years. I have also been on the arbitrator roster of the AAA, NYSE/ NASD n/k/a FINRA, and thus have been on numerous panels, including as Chair.
I am writing to support the FINRA proposal for expanded availability of information on individuals no longer registered with a brokerage firm. However, the proposal does not go far enough - Rule 8312 should be expanded to allow BrokerCheck to include all information that is currently available on a Legacy CRD report without any time limitation.
The federal and state securities laws' mandate parallels that of FINRA - Investor Protection. A reduction of BrokerCheck does not meet that mandate. If FINRA's justification for limiting the disclosure of ex-broker information to two years is privacy concerns for ex-brokers, I believe that the privacy concerns concerning that broker's activities are far outweighed by the investor protection interests of those investors who may have claims arising out of doing business with that broker - again all in the interest of Investor Protection.
Respectfully submitted,
Richard D. DeVita, Esq.