UpFront » December 2020

With an IPO in its sights next year, online trading firm Robinhood could be initially sidetracked by mounting regulatory obstacles that so far include cases involving customer harm brought by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the SEC. The lead resource in the story, Amy Lynch, FrontLine’s Founder and President, views the company’s alleged compliance failure of not following its own options approval rules – from the Massachusetts’ complaint – as potentially the more damaging issue.…

The recent SEC case against trading app Robinhood focused on the company’s misleading statements on how it was making money through the practice known as payment for order flow. FrontLine’s Founder and President Amy Lynch comments that Robinhood’s violations occurred within a unique business model that relied on much higher margins on the payment for orders. With competitors following suit, Ms. Lynch expects the SEC to extend its purview into whether other no commission online…

Firm training is imperative so employees continue to adhere to compliance policies while in an extended remote work situation. For employee training to be effective, it needs to adapt to the current virtual environment and address an employee’s personal level of digital activity that could violate firm policies on cybersecurity, ethics and workplace conduct. Amy Lynch, FrontLine’s Founder and President, believes that a home based workforce understands the sacrifices required with personal digital activity to…

The new Biden administration is already hearing from certain Congressional lawmakers that want to rescind or replace Trump era securities regulations. This includes Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI). However, FrontLine’s Founder and President Amy Lynch and other experts think a more tempered approach by the SEC is the likelier course of action. Ms. Lynch expects a new SEC to issue interpretive notices and guidance offering more clarity on components of Reg BI, especially on firm…