Built To Scale with CRC-Oyster

Regulatory exams and sweeps are enough to keep any CCO up at night. In today’s podcast, Ed Wegener and Len Derus, both former FINRA regulators, walk through what helps inform regulator decisions about what to look for in an exam, how regulators identify areas for a sweep, and how you can use sweep letters to your advantage.   CRC-Oyster: Compliance Risk Concepts / Oyster Consulting

 In order to become a registered broker-dealer, you must be registered with FINRA. Applying for this membership is an extensive process with multiple steps. We receive many, many questions about submitting a New Member Application (NMA) with FINRA and when a firm needs to submit a Continuing Membership Application (CMA). In this episode of the Oyster Stew podcast, Oyster’s Ed Wegener and  Lisa Rob...

CEOs of broker-dealers are faced with the continuous pressure to innovate and increase profits. If these aren't happening, there is also pressure to sell.  Successful broker dealers know that understanding how to navigate the demand for innovation and growth, or for changing the business model entirely is key for long-term prosperity.  In today’s podcast, Pete Bowman, Managing Director of Oys...

Platform technology, regulatory pressure, mergers and acquisitions are all driving financial services firms to re-evaluate their business models.  In today’s podcast, Pete Bowman, Managing Director of Oyster’s Strategic Planning and Execution team and Dave Williams, Head of Business Development share their insights on how some firms are positioning themselves for the future.  CRC-Oyster: Complianc...

In December 2022 the SEC offered 4 market structure proposals. The proposal to modernize Rule 605 was met with broad-based industry support.  Oyster Consultant Frank Childress and guest Ted Karn, founder of The Karn Group, walk through what modernizing Rule 605 will mean for the industry, and what firms should be doing to prepare.  CRC-Oyster: Compliance Risk Concepts / Oyster Consulting

The investing population has grown and so has their wealth. This is good for their finances, but also creates more opportunities for fraud and abuse.  Bob Mooney, General Counsel of Oyster Consulting, and Ron Long, Principal of Long Life Consulting, walk through the issues around protecting elder and vulnerable investors against fraud and abuse, and what financial services firms are doing to comba...

In today’s podcast, DOL PTE 2020-02 experts Fred Reish, David Porteous and Joan Neri from the law firm of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath will be discussing the current state of the industry’s implementation, how different firms are approaching the requirements, self-correction, and what they see as the DOL’s approach.  CRC-Oyster: Compliance Risk Concepts / Oyster Consulting

In February, a US District Court judge challenged the DOL’s FAQs around the fiduciary investment advice definition to rollover recommendations. In today's episode, Part 2 of 2 discussing DOL PTE 2020-02, experts Fred Reish, David Porteous and Joan Neri from the law firm of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath join Oyster's Ed Wegener   will be discussing this case and other legal challenges...

In today’s episode of Oyster Stew, our seasoned outsourced CCOs walk you through things to consider when deciding to outsource your CCO role, from the expertise and expanded resources an outsourced CCO brings, to common mistakes inexperienced CCOs make and concerns firms may have around outsourcing such an important role.     CRC-Oyster: Compliance Risk Concepts / Oyster Consulting

The landscape for digital assets, cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects has become extremely complex. Regulators, developers and exchanges are struggling to provide clarity and guardrails without limiting innovation and profitability.  Today, Ed Wegener and Steve Gannon, a partner at the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine, walk through the evolution of the crypto asset class, including some of t...

In part 2 of or Digital Assets mini-series, Steve Gannon and Ed Wegener continue their discussion of the Regulatory actions that are occurring around digital assets, including cases that the SEC is bringing, and where they see these cases going. CRC-Oyster: Compliance Risk Concepts / Oyster Consulting

In part 3 of our Digital Assets mini-series, Steve Gannon and Ed Wegener continue their discussion on the crypto landscape, the regulatory fallout around the determination of what constitutes a security, and the SEC’s actions.  CRC-Oyster: Compliance Risk Concepts / Oyster Consulting

As part of our podcast series talking about FINRA’s 2023 Exam Priorities, today our experts share best practices and what we are hearing from our clients and the industry at large on Reg BI, Sales and Communications.     CRC-Oyster: Compliance Risk Concepts / Oyster Consulting

Oyster's Capital Markets experts were recently featured on the Bond Dealer Association's podcast, "Bonding Time," discussing issues affecting the US fixed income markets.  Topics include SEC Rule 15c-211, TRACE and MSRB reporting, the FINRA Margin Rule (42-10), Best Execution, T+1 and Clearing Options.  Enjoy a short sample of the original podcast.  You can listen to the entire...

Many leaders at broker-dealers have a strong belief that there is no money laundering occurring within their firm. Unfortunately, belief alone isn’t enough to satisfy the requirements and expectations of regulators. As part of our podcast series talking about FINRA’s 2023 Exam Priorities, today our experts dive into the Financial Crimes portion of the report around AML and manipulative trading.   ...

 Oyster’s Ed Wegener chats with Lisa Robinson, formerly a Senior leader at FINRA, head of FINRA’s Membership and Application Program group and currently a member of Oyster’s Consulting team. Lisa shares her unique perspective on FINRA's registration and Continuing Membership Application process, including what firms should consider.        CRC-Oyster: Compliance Risk Concepts / Oyster Consult...

Whether you are searching for the right full-time employee but need someone right now, training someone internally, need a person with exceptional experience who can handle the complexity of your business or you just don’t need a fulltime position, outsourcing a role makes sense. Oyster’s General Counsel Bob Mooney and Consultant Fred Wagstaff share their thoughts on the value of hiring a fraction...

Each year, financial services industry regulators produce what are generally known as Exam Priorities. In this podcast episode, our Compliance experts review FINRA’s exam priorities - what’s new along with the highlights you should be aware of. This annual report is a helpful tool to identify what FINRA is seeing during their examinations and what areas FINRA will be focusing on in the coming year...

How you manage the process of responding to a regulatory exam, whether it is routine exam, a sweep or an investigation can influence how the exam goes, and possibly the outcome of the exam as well.  As part of our series on managing exams and your regulatory relationships,  Oyster’s experts provide best practices for managing the process of responding to exam requests.  CRC-Oyster: Compliance Risk...

Regulators demand strong governance and supervision of sales and trading activities, including access to markets, electronic trading and client transactions. In today’s podcast, Oyster’s trade desk experts share their first-hand experience in trade desk risk management, operations and compliance oversight. CRC-Oyster: Compliance Risk Concepts / Oyster Consulting

Trade desks can drive revenue growth and profitability, differentiate products and services, and be a fundamental need for advisor and investment services.  In today’s podcast, Oyster’s Capital Markets experts share their industry experience around starting and managing a successful trade desk.  CRC-Oyster: Compliance Risk Concepts / Oyster Consulting

Your clearing and custodial partnerships touch every part of your business:  your clients, financial professionals, technology platform, operations, digital experience and compliance are just some of those dependencies.  And don’t forget about the impact on your P&L.  In today’s podcast, Oyster’s clearing and custodian experts share their experience with managing clearing platform technology,...

Risk assessments help prioritize your tasks and testing, and of course, the rules dictate what is required to be done to remain compliant. So how do you make sure you are following the rules and protecting your firm?   In today’s podcast, Oyster compliance experts, who work a variety of clients and business models, share tips they’ve learned on how to build an effective and efficient compliance ca...

Your clearing and custodial partnerships touch every part of your business:  your clients, financial professionals, technology platform, operations, digital experience and compliance are just some of those dependencies.  And don’t forget about the impact on your P&L. In today’s podcast Oyster’s clearing and custodian experts Dave Williams, Jay Donlin, Pete McAteer and Jim Roth share how you sh...

Creating a risk assessment lets you know where the risks are and where to focus your compliance efforts. Once you have a risk assessment, knowing which controls to test and how often is the next step to strengthening your compliance program. But how do you know which controls and how often you should test them?  In today's podcast, Oyster experts share their expertise on successfully designin...