Spotlight Series: Investors and Markets
On this blog Better Markets staff will offer their views on the need for fulsome protection of investors who fuel the American economy with their hard-earned savings. We will also comment on the need to fix various aspects of our badly broken capital market structure. As these are primarily federal regulatory matters, we will focus on the actions of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Regulatory Industry Regulatory Authority, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, and other self-regulatory organizations, industry trade groups and academics.
October 22, 2018
Background
The Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) system promises to be game-changer for the SEC and would revolutionize the Commission’s capabilities to protect investors, facilitate capital formation and promote fair... Read More
August 23, 2018
By Lev Bagramian
In March of this year, the Securities and Exchange Commission, in a significant move, proposed a pilot to study “Transaction Fees” that equity exchanges impose on all those who trade on those... Read More
May 4, 2018
By Lev Bagramian
This Sunday marks the 8th anniversary of the “Flash Crash,” when nearly one trillion dollars of stock market value was temporarily wiped out from investors’ accounts. This confidence-... Read More
April 6, 2018
By Lev Bagramian
There are plenty of indications that the SEC is earnestly working to propose a fiduciary duty rule for broker-dealers. Last June, essentially as his first act as the Chairman of the SEC, Mr. Jay... Read More
March 9, 2018
By Lev Bagramian
When we launched this blog, we promised that we would pay attention to the work of the federal advisory committees. Here, we provide an important backgrounder on these committees at the SEC, and later... Read More
February 23, 2018
By Lev Bagramian
High frequency traders (HFT) and their supporters have for a long time claimed that HFT adds liquidity to the market and provides market-making that’s beneficial to investors, stabilizes... Read More
February 9, 2018
By Lev Bagramian
Today, companies with sizable financing needs have a multitude of options. They can borrow from banks, from business development companies, or from private funds; they can issue equities through... Read More
January 26, 2018
By Lev Bagramian
As the front-line regulator of broker-dealers, FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) – Congressionally-charged and overseen by the SEC – has the important duty of protecting investors... Read More
January 18, 2018
By Lev Bagramian
Many in the financial services industry and their misguided allies have tried, and are still trying to kill the Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT). The CAT is a supercomputer and a massive database that... Read More
January 10, 2018
By Lev Bagramian
Wall Street and Washington are both in flux. Markets are evolving rapidly, with technology fueling much of the change. Some financial services firms are adapting to better serve investors and... Read More