Gary Gensler Nominated to be the New SEC Chairman

On January 18^th, a few days before Biden was sworn in as President, he announced his nomination for the new Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) chairman.  President Joseph Biden named Gary Gensler as his pick for SEC chairman[1].  While Gensler still needs to be confirmed by the senate[2], it is expected that he will be approved. Gensler’s confirmation will create a 3-2 democratic majority in the SEC commission.

Gary Gensler has an extensive resume within the financial industry.  He is a former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) chairman, and is known for supporting intensive regulation. During his tenure at the CFTC, he introduced new rules concerning derivative markets, and implemented the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010.  Gensler has also worked inside the industry he regulated, as an executive at Goldman Sachs from 1979 to the late 1990s[3]. Gensler has served as Secretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Markets[4]. Currently, he is a professor of Global Economics and Management at MIT Sloan School of Management[5].

Gary Gensler is recognized as an aggressive regulator. He is known to be direct about his policy decisions and not straying away from controversy[6]. Gensler’s transparent conduct can be beneficial for the SEC, and also beneficial to those who fall under SEC regulation. Transparency in decision making can make it easier to predict what new polices could be passed, but more importantly, how those polices will affect the securities industry. This is primarily because Gensler is unambiguous about what he wants to accomplish. Gensler is consistent. While Gensler is transparent about his policy decisions, he advocates for that same transparency within securities markets. Possible changes include an increase in ESG disclosures[7], possible new rules to “swaps” (similar to his actions as CFTC Chairman), and increased whistleblower protections[8].

Gensler may impact the cryptocurrency industry. Gensler is a supporter of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, however, he has also indicated the possibility of some cryptocurrencies falling under the scope of securities definitions (such as XRP)[9]. Overall, we can expect Gensler and the SEC to become more hands-on when it comes to regulation. 

At Cosgrove Law Group, we will be keeping a close eye on potential new regulation by the SEC. If you have any questions regarding securities regulations and rules, please feel free to give us a call at 314-563-2490.

Please follow us on Twitter @CosLawGroup, on LinkedIn at Cosgrove Law Group, LLC, and on Facebook at Cosgrove Law Group, LLC. 

 

[1] Politi, J. (2021, January 18). Biden names Gensler as SEC head in push towards more scrutiny. Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://www.ft.com/content/a1ddd082-a253-4148-975a-1ec85b5e94d0

[2] Dizikes, P. (2021, January 19). MIT Sloan's Gary Gensler to be nominated for chair of Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://news.mit.edu/2021/gary-gensler-nominated-chair-sec-0119

[3] Gary Gensler. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://ballotpedia.org/Gary_Gensler

[4] Sprunt, B. (2021, January 18). Biden Taps Veteran Financial Regulators To Lead SEC, CFPB. Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2021/01/18/958023670/biden-taps-veteran-financial-regulators-to-lead-sec-cfpb

[5] Lundy, J. G., MacPhail, M. R., & Porteous, D. W. (2021, January 19). President Biden Announces Gary Gensler as SEC Chair Nominee. Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://www.natlawreview.com/article/president-biden-announces-gary-gensler-sec-chair-nominee

[6] Nicodemus, A. (2021, January 19). 'A very strong and vocal regulator': Biden taps Gary Gensler to lead SEC. Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://www.complianceweek.com/regulatory-policy/a-very-strong-and-vocal-regulator-biden-taps-gary-gensler-to-lead-sec/29931.article

[7] Glazer, E. (2021, January 18). Companies Brace Themselves for New ESG Regulations Under Biden. Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-brace-themselves-for-new-esg-regulations-under-biden-11610719200

[8] Schweller, G. (2021, January 18). Biden Picks Gary Gensler to Chair SEC. Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://whistleblowersblog.org/2021/01/articles/whistleblower-news/biden-picks-gary-gensler-to-chair-sec/

[9] Basar, S. (2021, January 21). Crypto Industry Eyes Gary Gensler at SEC. Retrieved January 21, 2021, from https://www.tradersmagazine.com/am/crypto-industry-eyes-gary-gensler-at-sec/

 

FINRA Orders Worden to Pay $1.2 Million in Restitution to Customers Whose Accounts Were Excessively Traded

FINRA announced last week that it sanctioned Worden Capital Management LLC (WCM) more than $1.5 million, including approximately $1.2 million in restitution to customers whose accounts were excessively traded by the firm’s representatives, and a $350,000 fine for supervisory and other violations. WCM must also retain an independent consultant to conduct a comprehensive review of the relevant portions of the firm’s supervisory systems and procedures.

FINRA found that from January 2015 to October 2019, WCM and the firm’s owner and CEO, Jamie Worden, failed to establish and enforce a supervisory system reasonably designed to achieve compliance with FINRA’s rules relating to excessive trading. As a result, WCM’s registered representatives made unsuitable recommendations and excessively traded customers’ accounts, causing customers to incur more than $1.2 million in commissions..

Jessica Hopper, Head of FINRA’s Department of Enforcement, said, “FINRA has an unwavering commitment to protect investors from excessive and unsuitable trading. Firms must ensure they establish systems and procedures reasonably designed to supervise representatives’ recommendations to their customers, and firms’ supervisory personnel must have in place the necessary tools and training to address red flags.”

FINRA also found that WCM and Worden interfered with customers’ requests to transfer their accounts to another member firm. Finally, as a result of supervisory failures, WCM failed to timely file amendments to registered representatives’ Form U4s and Form U5s to disclose the filing or resolution of customer arbitrations[1]. 

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[1] Michelle, Ong. (2020, December 31). FINRA Orders Worden Capital Management LLC to Pay More than $1.2 Million in Restitution to Customers Whose Accounts Were Excessively Traded. Retrieved January 05, 2021, from https://www.finra.org/media-center/newsreleases/2020/finra-orders-worden-capital-management-llc-pay-more-12-million