FINRA VP Speaks on Annuity Rates and Financial Markets
At the XBRL US National Conference, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA)’s VP gave a speech about the state of the US financial markets. James P. Donovan, FINRA’s Senior Executive Vice President for Technology & Strategy, said that Congress is working with regulatory agencies like FINRA to make the regulatory structure of the US financial markets more modern. They hope to prevent the extreme volatility and financial scandals that occurred over the past two years by making everything more transparent.
FINRA has new initiatives to help them in their advocacy for investors. They have new offices and training programs specifically for dealing with fraud. Believing that transparency is the greatest need right now in the financial markets, they have two expanded programs called BrokerCheck and TRACE. The first is an expanded version of their free online system for investors to get a background on the work of over 650,000 brokers offering them great annuity rates and all financial investment products. TRACE is another program that has been around since 2002 that FINRA is expanding to help investors find out more product information.
The entire market needs an overhaul to protect investors and the integrity of our markets. Market data needs to be consolidated and less fragmented. It seems that it would be best to have one strong regulator overseeing it all. FINRA also believes that a standard reporting language across the globe is crucial to both transparency and investor knowledge. While it is a challenge to win back the trust of investors, it is crucial because “efficient service, fair play, and simple honesty” will go a long way in keeping the markets strong.
