Regulators to Discuss Protecting Seniors During World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and FINRA will be co-hosting the Senior Safe Act Webinar: Identifying and Reporting Suspected Exploitation. The discussion will build on the SEC, NASAA and FINRA’s joint training released in 2021 on Addressing and Reporting Financial Exploitation of Seniors and Vulnerable Adult Investors.
The webinar will be held on June 15, which is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, and will be open to the public. The webinar is scheduled for 4:00 pm to 5:00 p.m. ET, and registration is available through the webinar page.
“FINRA continues to build upon our commitment to protecting senior investors by delivering important training opportunities and resources to help prevent financial exploitation,” said FINRA Foundation President Gerri Walsh. “We are excited to join our colleagues in heightening the awareness of these threats to vulnerable populations, especially as the investing landscape becomes more challenging and diversified.”
Panelists for the webinar will include:
- Lori Schock, Director, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, SEC
- Rich Szuch, Enforcement Chief, New Jersey Bureau of Securities
- Gerri Walsh, President, FINRA Foundation
- Olivia Valdes, Senior Researcher, FINRA Foundation
Firms can use the webinar to help train associated persons on how to identify and report financial exploitation of senior and vulnerable adult investors.
The webinar can serve as a training resource for firms to comply with requirements of the federal Senior Safe Act and the training requirements in Connecticut. As of June 2023, the training satisfies state training requirements for certain firms and financial institutions relating to senior investor protection and set forth in Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Puerto Rico and Washington.
The Senior Safe Act was signed into law on May 24, 2018. The Act removes barriers financial professionals face in reporting suspected senior financial exploitation or abuse to authorities. The Act protects covered financial institutions — which include investment advisers, broker-dealers and transfer agents — and their eligible employees, affiliated persons and associated persons from liability in any civil or administrative proceeding for reporting a case of potential exploitation of a senior citizen to a covered agency.
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day was launched on June 15, 2006, by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is meant to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect.
About FINRA
FINRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. It regulates one critical part of the securities industry—brokerage firms doing business with the public in the United States. FINRA, overseen by the SEC, writes rules, examines for and enforces compliance with FINRA rules and federal securities laws, registers broker-dealer personnel and offers them education and training, and informs the investing public. In addition, FINRA provides surveillance and other regulatory services for equities and options markets, as well as trade reporting and other industry utilities. FINRA also administers a dispute resolution forum for investors and brokerage firms and their registered employees. For more information, visit www.finra.org.
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