Wednesday, November 18, 2009

FINRA BrokerCheck to Add Past Broker Information after SEC Ruling

Starting on November 30th, 2009, disclosure records of former brokers will be available on the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) website under its current service – BrokerCheck. This is only possible because of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval allowing FINRA to add this material.

Currently, FINRA’s BrokerCheck allows one to view the disclosure records of current brokers, however, two year after leaving the securities field that record is made unavailable. FINRA Chairman and CEO Richard Ketchum believes the addition of past brokers’ records will make the financial market safer for investors. Ketchum sites cases where barred brokers have been connected to recent securities fraud after having lost their license.

With the addition of past broker records on BrokerCheck, Ketchum and others hope that investors might find out information that could shield them from involvement with objectionable former brokers. Current FINRA estimates place the amount of additional records to be made available on November 30th around 15,000.

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