In June, when the SEC approved the NASD's rule change exempting discrimination and sexual harassment complaints from its mandatory arbitration requirement, SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt Jr. urged other SROs to "promptly change their rules to conform...

The SEC is looking for last-minute information from brokerage firms in making its determination on the controversial qualified immunity rule.Last fall, the agency asked the NASD to supply more information justifying the need for the rule, which...

The Canadian government is cracking down on the sales practice known as "tied selling" within banks. A new law that went into effect October 1998 bans tied selling. The law is a result of a year-long review of financial services by a federal task...

The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE) hopes a makeover in governance and systems will slow eroding market share--as well as the increasing in-fighting between members and some exchange officials.A plan hatched last year calls for the demutualization of...

Prudential Investments is breaking the captive sales force model long used by its insurance company parent and Prudential Securities.The asset management unit, which now has responsibility for all managed products formerly run separately by the...

Poll NotesEven though the market was more tumultuous this year, reps' opinions about their firms remain remarkably steady in our eighth annual survey of brokerage performance. In general, brokers praise the firms' ethics, rating that highest at 9...

Merrill Lynch has teamed up with the College for Financial Planning to offer Merrill's brokers a proprietary designation. Brokers who complete a 12-module course will receive a Certified Financial Manager designation they can use on business cards...

Merrill Lynch brokers will begin the New Year with major compensation changes.The centerpiece of the new compensation plan is the push to capture wealthy households through a complicated "Priority/Premier Household Incentive Program." According to...

Three former brokers at the Salomon Smith Barney branch in Richmond, Va., have filed for NASD arbitration hearings, accusing the firm and its Atlantic Coast regional director with mismanagement, Registered Representative has learned.Although...

Small broker/dealers say regulators' crackdown on firms who failed to file or were late to file year 2000 forms was unfair and heavy-handed.The SEC slapped 37 firms for failing to file part or all of their Y2K readiness reports by Oct. 2, the...