Securities Lawyers Blog
The financial abuse of seniors continues to be a significant problem in the United States. Nearly 40 million people are age 65 and older and the number is expected to grow to 89 million by 2050. However, even though seniors comprise of a large portion of the population they make up the vast majority of clients that seek our firm’s assistance as securities attorneys.
Securities regulators have taken increased interest in recent years to stress to brokerage firms the need to implement increased supervision and devise specific policies to address issue facing senior investors. FINRA recently published its 2014 Business Conduct Priorities where the regulator stated that its examiners will continue to focus on how firms engage with senior investors with a focus on suitability determinations as well as disclosures and communications. FINRA has also stated that firms must develop policies and procedures to identify and address situations where issues of diminished capacity may be present.
In a 2010 article published by the SEC, the regulator summarized practices that financial services firms and brokers must adhere to in order to properly service the accounts of senior investors in areas including: