AWC/2007008310201/ 2010
AWC/2008012391401/ 2010
Through several of its employees at the branch office level and employees of an affiliate in the Office of General Counsel, the Firm made material misstatements to NYSE Regulation examiners relating to an on-site branch office examination relating to non-registered cold callers by
- providing the NYSE with inaccurate and deceptive information in response to various regulatory examination requests,
- instructing staff that an unapproved facsimile machine be hidden or removed, and
- by providing an inaccurate written statement in response to requests for information during an ongoing investigation.
Unlicensed Attorney
The Firm failed to properly supervise a registered person with the firm who held himself out as an attorney on firm stationery and business cards even though he was not licensed or admitted to practice before any state or federal bar.
Away Accounts
The Firm failed to
- provide letters from outside broker dealers, whose employees maintained accounts at the firm, confirming that they were aware of such accounts;
- receive and review duplicate confirmations and monthly account statements for accounts that employees maintained outside the firm;
- evidence the approval of such accounts; and
- send duplicate statement and confirmations to other firms whose employees had accounts at the firm.
Communications and Computers
The Firm failed to
- evidence review and supervision of incoming or outgoing written communications and facsimiles at certain branches;
- evidence the approval for certain employees to maintain computers and software; and
- review, supervise and/or evidence supervisory review of communications that employees sent and received with non-firm issued computers.
The Firm failed to place certain accounts on 90-day restrictions; evidence the review, approval and/or supervision of order errors and account designation changes; and date or properly date corrections for order errors and account designation changes. Also, the Firm failed to evidence the review, approval and/or supervision of certain personal computer forms that had been backdated at a branch; failed to approve and/or timely approve seminars that firm employees conducted, and maintain certain seminar-related materials; failed to review, approve and/or retain certain facsimiles, including Fax-2-Mail correspondence and/or evidence its review and approval; and failed to maintain its "control" fax machine in a secure location in one branch.
AWC/2008011629602/ 2010
AWC/2009016196001/ 2010
Acting through Buchanan, Valores Finamex failed to produce evidence of Buchanan’s review of a registered representative’s correspondence. The Firm’s written supervisory procedures failed to
- identify the registered representative as a producing manager,
- contain procedures reasonably designed to provide heightened supervision over the activities of each producing manager who is responsible for generating 20 percent or more of the revenue of the business units supervised by the producing manager’s supervisor, and
- assign a qualified supervisor to supervise the registered representative.
The Firm permitted Buchanan to conduct a securities business while he was “Continuing Education Inactive.” Also, the Firm failed to
- send an annual privacy notice to its customers;
- provide an explanation to its customers of their right to opt out of disclosure of nonpublic personal information to nonaffiliated third parties; and
- establish policies and procedures that address and review administrative, technical and physical safeguards for the protection of customer records and information involved in the outsourcing of compliance and operations functions to nonaffiliated third parties.
The Firm effected Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine-eligible securities trades and failed to report, or properly report, those transactions.
Valores Finamex International, Inc.: Censured; Fined $27,500 ($10,000 of which was jointly and severally with Buchanan).
Vincent Anthony Buchanan: Fined $10,000 jointly and severally with Valores Finamex; Suspended in Principal capacity only for 20 business days.
AWC/2007007345601/ 2010
Small failed to establish and maintain adequate supervisory procedures concerning the review of
- email correspondence,
- incoming and outgoing hard copy correspondence at the firm’s branch offices that he was in charge of, and
- outside investment activity of registered representatives at the firm.
- NASD Rule 3012(a)(2)(B) and its requirement that members establish, maintain and enforce procedures reasonably designed to review and monitor transmittals of funds or securities between customers and registered representatives, and
- NASD Rule 3012(a)(2)(C) and its requirement of an analysis and determination of whether producing branch office managers should have been subjected to heightened supervision.
- 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