Oyster Stew - A Broth of Financial Services Commentary and Insights

In part 3 of our Digital Assets mini-series, Steve Gannon and Ed Wegener continue their discussion on the crypto landscape, the regulatory fallout around the determination of what constitutes a security, and the SEC’s actions. 

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The landscape for digital assets, cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects has become extremely complex. Regulators, developers and exchanges are struggling to provide clarity and guardrails without limiting innovation and profitability. 
Today, Ed Wegener and Steve Gannon, a partner at the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine, walk through the evolution of the crypto asset class, including some of the common types of digital assets and digital asset projects.  

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In part 2 of or Digital Assets mini-series, Steve Gannon and Ed Wegener continue their discussion of the Regulatory actions that are occurring around digital assets, including cases that the SEC is bringing, and where they see these cases going.

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As part of our podcast series talking about FINRA’s 2023 Exam Priorities, today our experts share best practices and what we are hearing from our clients and the industry at large on Reg BI, Sales and Communications.    

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Oyster's Capital Markets experts were recently featured on the Bond Dealer Association's podcast, "Bonding Time," discussing issues affecting the US fixed income markets.  Topics include SEC Rule 15c-211, TRACE and MSRB reporting, the FINRA Margin Rule (42-10), Best Execution, T+1 and Clearing Options. 

Enjoy a short sample of the original podcast.  You can listen to the entire podcast here. 

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Many leaders at broker-dealers have a strong belief that there is no money laundering occurring within their firm. Unfortunately, belief alone isn’t enough to satisfy the requirements and expectations of regulators. As part of our podcast series talking about FINRA’s 2023 Exam Priorities, today our experts dive into the Financial Crimes portion of the report around AML and manipulative trading.    

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 Oyster’s Ed Wegener chats with Lisa Robinson, formerly a Senior leader at FINRA, head of FINRA’s Membership and Application Program group and currently a member of Oyster’s Consulting team. Lisa shares her unique perspective on FINRA's registration and Continuing Membership Application process, including what firms should consider.       

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Whether you are searching for the right full-time employee but need someone right now, training someone internally, need a person with exceptional experience who can handle the complexity of your business or you just don’t need a fulltime position, outsourcing a role makes sense. Oyster’s General Counsel Bob Mooney and Consultant Fred Wagstaff share their thoughts on the value of hiring a fractional CFO. 

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Each year, financial services industry regulators produce what are generally known as Exam Priorities. In this podcast episode, our Compliance experts review FINRA’s exam priorities - what’s new along with the highlights you should be aware of. This annual report is a helpful tool to identify what FINRA is seeing during their examinations and what areas FINRA will be focusing on in the coming year. Learn how broker-dealers can use this tool to assess their supervisory system and make sure it is addressing the areas on which FINRA will be focusing.

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How you manage the process of responding to a regulatory exam, whether it is routine exam, a sweep or an investigation can influence how the exam goes, and possibly the outcome of the exam as well. 

As part of our series on managing exams and your regulatory relationships,  Oyster’s experts provide best practices for managing the process of responding to exam requests. 

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Regulators demand strong governance and supervision of sales and trading activities, including access to markets, electronic trading and client transactions. In today’s podcast, Oyster’s trade desk experts share their first-hand experience in trade desk risk management, operations and compliance oversight.

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Trade desks can drive revenue growth and profitability, differentiate products and services, and be a fundamental need for advisor and investment services. 

In today’s podcast, Oyster’s Capital Markets experts share their industry experience around starting and managing a successful trade desk. 

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Your clearing and custodial partnerships touch every part of your business:  your clients, financial professionals, technology platform, operations, digital experience and compliance are just some of those dependencies.  And don’t forget about the impact on your P&L. 

In today’s podcast, Oyster’s clearing and custodian experts share their experience with managing clearing platform technology, consulting and integration, including utilizing the other services these firms offer.

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Risk assessments help prioritize your tasks and testing, and of course, the rules dictate what is required to be done to remain compliant. So how do you make sure you are following the rules and protecting your firm?  

In today’s podcast, Oyster compliance experts, who work a variety of clients and business models, share tips they’ve learned on how to build an effective and efficient compliance calendar. 

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Your clearing and custodial partnerships touch every part of your business:  your clients, financial professionals, technology platform, operations, digital experience and compliance are just some of those dependencies.  And don’t forget about the impact on your P&L.

In today’s podcast Oyster’s clearing and custodian experts Dave Williams, Jay Donlin, Pete McAteer and Jim Roth share how you should manage your clearing and custodian relationships at the executive level.  

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Creating a risk assessment lets you know where the risks are and where to focus your compliance efforts. Once you have a risk assessment, knowing which controls to test and how often is the next step to strengthening your compliance program. But how do you know which controls and how often you should test them?  In today's podcast, Oyster experts share their expertise on successfully designing tests around risk controls. 

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The markets continue to evolve, and so do the products offered to investors. In today’s market ESG investing remains a hot topic for clients, regulators and in the news. Deciding whether or not to offer ESG products requires strategic planning, risk measurement and compliance.

In today’s podcast Oyster CEO Buddy Doyle along with consultants Bill Reilly and Jeff Wilk share what they have seen in the industry as firms decide whether to offer these products, and what firms should consider, including new product strategy, due diligence, and navigating market cycles. 

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In our previous podcast our experts shared why they use risk assessments and the benefits having a risk assessment can provide.  In today’s Oyster Stew podcast, Oyster’s experts share best practices and ways to leverage your risk assessment to strengthen your compliance program.  

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Regulators have been approaching their exams and regulatory requirements from a risk-based perspective, and use those assessments to evaluate how firms are controlling for the risks they have.    

In today’s podcast, Part 1 of 2 about using Risk Assessments as a tool in your compliance program, Oyster’s experts share why they use risk assessments and why you should, too. 

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In our previous podcast about strategic planning for 2023, Oyster Consulting CEO Buddy Doyle and Head of Business Development David Williams talked about challenges we are hearing from our clients, from managing the effects of industry trends and technology to succession planning. 

In today’s Oyster Stew podcast, Buddy and Dave continue their conversation, sharing their thoughts on recruiting top talent and multi-generational wealth management clients, and some risks to consider.  

Oyster Consulting has the expertise, experience and licensed professionals you need, all under one roof. Follow us on LinkedIn to take advantage of our industry insights or subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

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