September 18, 2009
VIA E-MAIL
Ms. Elizabeth Murphy, Secretary
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street NE
Washington, DC 20549
Dear Ms. Murphy:
The purpose of this correspondence is to comment on FINRA's proposed expansion of BrokerCheck to permanently disclose the disciplinary histories of former financial advisors.
I am an attorney in private practice whose practice, in large part, involves and has involved the representation of aggrieved investors. In addition, I myself am a former registered representative who held a variety of securities licenses with FINRA's predecessor, the National Association of Securities Dealers.
I am writing to support the FINRA proposal for expanded availability of information on individuals no longer registered with a member broker-dealer 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.
This information is invaluable to investors, as well as to attorneys evaluating potential claims against financial advisors for possible sales practices violations. In my view, any alleged justification for withholding the full and complete disclosure of this information is far outweighed by the interests of the investing public.
Very truly yours,
Ronald M. Amato