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Registered Rep. February 1, 2005 John Churchill	A Monster Issue Will the SEC withdraw the Broker-Dealer Exemption, causing reps to back away from adviser status? If so, the impact could cause substantial disruption in the markets.
Registered Rep. February 1, 2006 Kristen French	Both Sides Now Brokers who hold dual licenses -- both the Series 7 and Series 65 licenses -- will have to take fiduciary responsibility on some accounts. But they can also sell investments, after they make it crystal clear that they're doing so.
Registered Rep. April 8, 2005 John Churchill	`Merrill Rule' Debate Not Over The SEC unanimously voted to allow Series 7 holders, or registered reps, to position themselves as financial advisors -- with certain caveats. But once again the SEC seemed to hedge its bet. So the debate rages on.
Registered Rep. April 6, 2005 John Churchill	SEC Adopts Broker-Dealer Exemption Over the vociferous objections of fee-only financial planners, the SEC voted unanimously to permanently adopt the broker/dealer exemption rule, formerly known as the Merrill Lynch exemption.
Registered Rep. June 1, 2007	The Great Re-Sell How will registered reps re-position themselves with clients who have fee-based brokerage accounts?
Registered Rep. February 2, 2006 Kristen French	Brokers Learning to Play by New Rules It's no longer business as usual on Wall Street. Starting yesterday, broker/dealers must follow a new SEC rule that requires them to disclose at certain times that they may not be acting in their clients' best interest.
Registered Rep. May 1, 2007	The Great Reckoning Whatever the specific business impact the Merrill Lynch ruling may have, many see the return to pre-1999 rules as a chance for the brokerage industry, which has long avoided fiduciary duty for business and regulatory reasons, to overcome those obstacles and embrace it.
Registered Rep. December 1, 2015 Diana Britton	Old-Fashioned Exams Financial advisor exams vary in their requirements, but for any individual looking to work in a brokerage firm or sell investments, the Series 7 exam is the mandatory gateway.
Registered Rep. March 30, 2007 John Churchill	Surprise! FPA Wins Lawsuit Against SEC and the Broker-Dealer Exemption Three years after suing the SEC over the controversial "Broker Dealer Exemption" rule, a federal court has ruled that the SEC exceeded its authority in adopting the rule.
Registered Rep. April 29, 2005 John Churchill	FPA Sues to Stop Broker-Dealer Exemption The Financial Planning Association believes that the SEC rule which allows registered reps to call themselves financial advisors is contrary to law and encourages broker-dealers to engage in self-dealing with their clients without disclosing their conflicts of interest.
Registered Rep. August 1, 2005	CIMA and the Wirehouse Rep. Merrill Lynch leads the pack in terms of the number of Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA)-carrying reps.
Financial Advisor March 2006 Nancy Lininger	Letters to the Editor The New Advisory-World Order: Commissioned reps have lost clients over the years to discount brokers, day traders and now, the divine fee-only advisor. Firms embracing fees and commissions, and offering the most services and compensation options, will be reborn.
Registered Rep. March 1, 2008 John Churchill	Fix Advisor Laws! Laws should reflect the fact that the differences between registered reps and registered investment advisors have largely evaporated.
Registered Rep. December 1, 2006 John Churchill	Of Two Minds An internecine argument at the FPA gets to the heart of one of the industry's more vexing problems: Should brokers be able to position themselves as financial planners?
Registered Rep. May 1, 2004 David A. Gaffen	Mother Merrill's Extreme Makeover A 12-year veteran of Merrill Lynch has noticed a pronounced improvement over the years in the way clients perceive him and his colleagues.
Financial Advisor March 2011 Andrew Gluck	Members Only Good intentions and strict rules may have backfired for the Financial Planning Association at a time of change.
Registered Rep. October 1, 2002 David A. Geracioti	Outgrowing the Series 7? Registered investment advisors must take the Series 65 exam. As the line between brokers and financial advisors blurs, what responsibilities do brokers that dispense advice and collect a fee based on assets have?
Registered Rep. April 28, 2005 John Churchill	NASD Sends Older Reps Back to the Classroom All registered reps are required to complete the regulatory sections of the NASD's continuing education curriculum. According to the Securities Industry/Regulatory Council on Continuing Education, there are currently 109,000 exempted reps that will now have to take the test.
Registered Rep. October 1, 2004 John Churchill	BrokerAdvisor BrokerAdvisor Let's Call the Whole Thing Off! The Financial Planning Association and some consumer groups are in court in an effort to block brokers from introducing themselves tp prospective clients as finanical advisors or financial consultants.
Investment Advisor March 2006 Melanie Waddell	Piling On Keeping up with compliance chores will continue to occupy a substantial portion of advisors' time, as industry officials and observers are steadfast in their belief that regulatory scrutiny by the SEC and NASD isn't going away.
Registered Rep. May 14, 2007 John Churchill	"Merrill Lynch" Rule Dead, But SEC to Ask for Time The securities industry still hopes that the SEC will somehow come up with a new plan to keep the fee-based brokerage account from coverage by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, which mandates that to offer financial advice, you have to be a fiduciary.
Registered Rep. August 1, 2006	The Broker-Dealer Exemption: Good or Bad for the Investing Public? (Oy, This Still Hasn't Been Resolved?) True financial advisors -- those who hold Series 65s and Series 66s, and who are fiduciaries -- aren't too happy that Series 7-holders have been able to cast themselves as financial advisors.
Registered Rep. June 1, 2006 Halah Touryalai	Overtime Settlements Stacking Up Citigroup agreed in mid-May to pay a record $98 million to past and present advisors to settle their overtime-pay claims. It's the fourth major financial firm to settle a class-action suit regarding overtime pay within the past 10 months.
Registered Rep. December 1, 2005 Andrew Osterland	Brokering Advice The essential difference between brokers and registered advisors, say financial planners, is fiduciary duty. The notion that b/ds have a lighter burden of regulation than registered advisors, however, is something the securities industry vigorously disputes.
Financial Advisor September 2005	Editor's Note Following the ironic twists and turns of the Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called Merrill Lynch rule brings to mind how so many things in life and business often take a turn we never could have anticipated.
Registered Rep. November 14, 2008	Update: 6,200 Merrill FAs Sign BofA Retention At Deadline Merrill says that only about half of the firm's nearly 17,000 advisors were eligible in the first place, and that they are responsible for about 75 percent of the firm's production.
Investment Advisor November 2007 Kathleen M. McBride	Migration Time Is repapering accounts for 202(a) the last straw for wirehouse reps?
Investment Advisor September 2005 Dan Danford	The IA Soapbox: Sorry, Bob. They Still Don't Get it There is no such thing as incidental financial advice. Either financial planning is being done properly and in the sole interests of the client (as in fee-only) or it's just being used as a ploy to sell investment products.
Investment Advisor June 2007 Melanie Waddell	SEC Won't Appeal Court Ruling The SEC has decided not to appeal the recent ruling which exempted brokers from being subject to regulation as investment advisors in fee-based brokerage accounts, on the basis that the SEC had exceeded its authority under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
On Wall Street April 1, 2010 Howard J. Stock	Back Office Move Has Advisors Up In Arms -- Some Bolt Questions surround what will happen to BAI clients when Merrill moves their accounts from National Financial to Merrill Lynch.
Registered Rep. October 1, 2005 Matt Barthel	Insurance and the Generation Gap Reps historically have been reluctant to sell life insurance because of the steep learning curve associated with the products, and there is evidence that many still are hesitant to put forth the effort necessary to grasp the products' nuances.
Investment Advisor March 2008 Bob Clark	The Empire Strikes Back Wall Street's crafty response to its whipping over the Merrill rule.
Registered Rep. March 30, 2005 John Churchill	House Urges SEC to Adopt Broker-Dealer Exemption Rule At issue, at least as far as financial planners are concerned, is that registered reps are presenting themselves as fiduciaries, when in fact they are brokers with a less-than-fiduciary responsibility to their clients.
Registered Rep. April 27, 2011 Kristen French	CIMA Aims High: Seeks to Replace Series 7, 65 As Industry Standard The Investment Management Consultants Association announced Wednesday that its popular CIMA certification is now accredited by the American National Standards Institute, making it the first of the major wealth management designations to meet international ISO standards.
Financial Advisor November 2005 Tracey Longo	The Embattled Broker Exemption Rule While advisors talk a good game about their desire to see consumers protected by meaningful regulation, the Financial Planning Association remains the sole litigant in its lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission's so-called Merrill rule.
Registered Rep. May 22, 2006 Halah Touryalai	Brokers Ring Up Another Big Overtime-Pay Settlement Citigroup has agreed to pay a up to $98 million, a record-breaking figure, to past and present advisors to settle their overtime-pay claims.
Registered Rep. September 29, 2008	Wachovia, The Bank, Saved by Citi; What Will Happen To Wachovia Securities? Firm Says The AGE Integration To Continue Unaffected Citigroup apparently thinks its got enough financial advisors: Citi declined to buy the retail brokerage business -- Wachovia Securities (and A.G. Edwards) -- and the asset management unit (Evergreen).
Registered Rep. February 1, 2005 Pam Black	Why More Reps Are Getting Their Kicks on Route 66 What's driving top reps to Series 66 RIA designation is not regulatory rules. It's changes in the wirehouse environment that, newly minted RIAs say, made it harder for them to do their own thing.
Registered Rep. December 1, 2004 David A. Gaffen	Meet the New Boss, Different From the Old Boss November's news that Bob Mulholland was leaving Merrill Lynch wasn't entirely a surprise. He had been co-head of the 14,000-strong retail brokerage unit, but Merrill insiders figured all along that only one boss would prevail.
Financial Planning November 1, 2006 Daniel B. Moisand	Keep Standards High Financial planning is surprisingly under-regulated. The rules that do exist apply primarily to subset disciplines. As a result, all planners are regulated but no one really regulates planning.
Financial Planning May 1, 2006 Bob Veres	False Fiduciaries The so-called resolution of the SEC's "Merrill Lynch rule" does nothing to keep brokers from providing financial advice without assuming legal responsibility.
Registered Rep. April 1, 2007	Turf Wars Over Advice The age-old debate between the b/d and investment advisor (RIA) industries over who should be able to provide advice and when, and whose regulatory regime offers better investor protections, is far from over.
Registered Rep. March 4, 2009 David A. Geracioti	The Conflicts of Interest in Not Being a Fiduciary; Hang Charlie Merrill In Effigy? At least one commentator is calling for Charlie Merrill to be hung in effigy for creating the modern-day, hard-charging, sales-oriented brokerage called Merrill Lynch.
Investment Advisor March 2009 Melanie Waddell	Retirement News & Products March 2009 SEC charges Merrill Lynch advisors with securities fraud regarding pensions... New research shows deferred variable assets show promise for wealth transfer market... Research shows 7 of 10 households have a tax-advantaged savings plan through work...
Financial Advisor May 2006 Andrew Gluck	New Rule Causes Software Schizophrenia New financial software programs for advisors reflect the difference between fiduciary and suitability requirements.
Registered Rep. May 31, 2007 Kevin Burke	Wachovia Buys A.G. Edwards for $6.8 Billion, Creating New Rival to Merrill, Smith Barney The deal puts Wachovia among the top three competitors in retail brokerage -- in terms of both assets and advisors -- and retail banking.
Registered Rep. March 11, 2009 Christina Mucciolo	Brokers Versus Advisors--SIFMA Wants "Universal," Not Fiduciary, Standard Will the patchwork rules governing the conduct of Series 7 holders and registered investment advisors, a patchwork that confuses the public, finally be sorted out?
Registered Rep. June 2, 2004 Will Leitch	SEC Passes Breakpoint Amendment---With an `Ethics' Twist The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued its long-awaited amendments on breakpoints (sales-charge discounts on mutual funds), and the end result of months of deliberations surprised no one.
Registered Rep. January 1, 2006 John Churchill	More, More, More Faced with growing competition from other advice providers and fewer inherent advantages in the way of products and platform capabilities, wirehouse brokers will feel pressure to do more fee-based business and to make wealthier clients a bigger part of their practice.
Registered Rep. January 3, 2008 Christina Mucciolo	SEC's RAND Study Released The SEC release the results of the RAND study, which examined how broker/dealers and investment advisors market products and services to investors, and how investors understand the differences between investment advisors and broker/dealers.