AWC/2008012636401/ 2010
AWC/2009016531801/ 2010
2008014858101/ 2010
AWC/2008011794901/ 2010
The Firm
- issued research reports that the firm labeled “Asset Analysis Focus” (AAF) on a paid subscription basis;
- did not consider the AAF a research report;
- did not have in place policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with the various research related rules applicable to firms that issue research reports, such as those relating to research analyst and research principal registration, disclosures, conflicts, annual attestations and written supervisory procedures;
- allowed registered representatives at the firm to collaborate in the preparation of AAFs without having passed a qualifying examination,
- allowed an individual also to collaborate in the preparation of AAFs without being registered as a general securities representative or in any other capacity through the firm, and without having passed a qualifying examination.
A general securities principal supervised the preparation of AAFs without having passed the qualifying examination.
Certain AAFs the firm issued failed to disclose certain NASD Rule 2711 required information, including the financial interest in the issuer of the research analysts who prepared the reports, price charts for issuers where the firm has assigned a price target for at least one year, and the valuation methods used to determine price targets and the risks that may impede achievement of the price targets.
An individual who collaborated in the preparation of AAFs purchased securities of companies during the 30-day period before the publication of the research reports concerning those companies. In addition, The firm did not have the required research report-related written supervisory procedures in place, and the firm did not have a senior officer make the required annual attestation that the firm had adopted and implemented the required written supervisory procedures.
Moreover, the Firm did not make the required annual attestations for several years and filed inaccurate annual attestations for other years.
AWC/2009016709007/ 2010
AWC/2008016154401/ 2010
AWC/2009016295901/ 2010
Acting through Rodgers,NWT:
- allowed opening options transactions in accounts without signed options agreements;
- allowed accounts to day-trade prior to firm approval;
- failed to evidence that accounts had been approved for daytrading;
- failed to evidence that customers had been furnished a risk disclosure statement prior to engaging in day-trading activities.
Each of the above noted accounts came to the firm as part of a mass transfer of accounts from a former member firm.
Acting through Rodgers and Niederkrome, the firm failed to implement portions of its supervisory control procedures, in that Rodgers and Niederkrome failed to test and verify that the firm’s supervisory control procedures and policies were reasonably designed to achieve compliance with applicable rules; and, prepare and submit a report to senior management detailing the firm’s system of supervisory controls, the summary of the test results, significant identified exceptions and any additional or amended supervisory procedures created in response to the test results.
Rodgers and Niederkrome failed to complete an annual certification pursuant to NASD Rule 3013(b), verifying that the firm had in place processes to establish, maintain, review, test and modify written compliance policies and written supervisory procedures to comply with applicable securities rules and regulations.
Censured; Fined $10,000 jt/sev with Niederkrome and Rodgers; Fined additional $5,000 jt/several with Rodgers
David Eric Niederkrome: Censured; Fined $10,000 jt/sev with NWT and Rodgers;
Stephen Rudolph Rodgers: Censured; Fined $10,000 jt/sev with NWT and Niederkrome; Fined additional $5,000 jt/sev with NWT
AWC/2008015274701/ 2010
AWC/2009018404901/ 2010
AWC/2009017425001/ 2010
AWC/2009018230901/ 2010
- 529 College Savings Plan
- Abandoned Accounts
- Algorithmic Trading
- Altered Customer Phone Records
- AML
- Annual Compliance Certification
- Annual Compliance Meeting
- Annuity
- Asset Purchase Agreement
- ATM
- Away Accounts
- Background
- Bank
- Banks
- Beneficiary
- Best Efforts Offering
- Blackjack
- Borrowed
- Borrowing
- Breakpoint
- Casino
- CE
- CFTC
- Changes Of Address
- Check
- Check Kiting
- Checks
- CIP
- CMO
- Commodity Futures
- Commodity Pool
- Communications
- Computers
- Confidential Customer Information
- Contingency Offering
- Continuing Education
- Conversion
- Conviction
- Cooperation Agreement
- Correspondence
- Credit Cards
- Currency
- Day Trading
- Deceased
- Delivery Instructions
- Discretion
- Do Not Call
- EIA
- Elderly
- Electronic Communications
- Electronic Storage
- Embezzled
- Escheat
- Escrow
- Estate
- Expenses
- False Proof Of Insurance
- False Statements
- Fax
- Federal Appeal
- Felony
- Finder Fees
- Finder\\\'s Fees
- Fingerprints
- FINOP
- Firm Committment Offering
- FOCUS
- FOREX
- Forgery
- Freely-Tradable
- Futures
- Gifts
- Guaranteeing Against Losses
- Hedge Fund
- Impersonation
- Inspections
- Instant Messaging
- Insurance
- Internet
- Investment Advisor
- Letter Of Credit
- Life Insurance
- Living Trust
- LOA
- Loan
- Log On IDs
- Margin
- Mark-Up Mark-Down
- Material Change Of Business
- Membership Agreement
- Minimum Contingency
- Modification Of Sanctions
- Money Laundering
- MSRB
- Mutual Fund
- Mutual Funds
- NAC
- Net Capital
- Notary
- Notice Of Levy
- NSF
- Operations Manager
- Options
- Orders
- OSJ
- Outside Accounts
- Passwords
- Payphones
- POA
- Policy Lapse
- Ponzi
- Power Of Attorney
- Pre-arranged Trading.
- Private Placement
- Private Securities Transaction
- Producing Manager
- Production Quota
- Promissory Notes
- Proprietary Traders
- Public Appearances
- Qualified Domestic Relations Order
- Radio
- Regulation S-P
- REIT
- Research
- Restitution
- SAR
- Scripts
- Signature
- Solicited
- Statutory Disqualification
- Suitability
- Supervision
- Supervisory System
- Surrender Charge
- Surrender Charges
- Suspense Account
- Taping Rule
- Telemarketing
- Television
- Term Life
- Testing
- Third Party Vendor
- Time & Price Discretion
- Trading Limits
- Trading Volume
- Trust Account
- Turnover
- Two Party Consent
- U.S. Treasuries
- UIT
- Unclaimed Funds
- Universal Lease Programs
- Unregistered Office
- Unregistered Person
- Unregistered Principal
- Unregistered RRs
- Unregistered Securities
- Unregistered Supervisor
- Variable Annuity
- Variable Insurance
- Website
- Willfully
- WSP
- Zero Coupon