This year’s Securities Forum on October 19, 2010 at the New Haven Lawn Club in New Haven, Connecticut promises to be an exciting and memorable event.  The program runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Lunch and materials are included.

Speakers from FINRA, the SEC, the Connecticut Financial Planning Association and the Connecticut Department of Banking will guide you through the maze of regulatory changes in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in a practical, no-nonsense way.  Connecticut U.S. Attorney David Fein will offer insights on key law enforcement initiatives undertaken by his office.  Best of all, you will have the opportunity to network with your colleagues and ask hard questions of securities regulators.
There’s still time to sign up for Securities Forum 2010:  Revolution in Reform.

The registration deadline is October 12, 2010.  The department is sensitive to cost issues, and has kept the registration fee modest to encourage as many people to attend as possible.  The registration fee is $70 per person (compare with other course offerings in the industry) and includes a luncheon as well as a CD of written materials.  Two to four attendees from the same firm pay even less per person ($65), and five or more attendees from the same firm pay only $60 each.

We sincerely hope that your schedule will permit you to attend this year.  You can download a registration form and read the agenda on the Department's website.  Thank you, and we hope to see you there!

On September 23, 2010, the Banking Commissioner issued an Order to Cease and Desist, Notice of Intent to Revoke Registration as Broker-dealer, Notice of Intent to Fine and Notice of Right to Hearing (Docket No. RCF-10-7792-S) against Salomon Whitney LLC (CRD # 145012) of 15 Deer Park Avenue, Suite 1, Babylon Village, New York.  The action alleged that the firm violated the antifraud provisions in the Connecticut Uniform Securities Act and engaged in dishonest and unethical practices by not disclosing to Connecticut customers that a transactional “Handling Fee” charged to Connecticut customers included a profit to the firm, that certain customers paid lower fees and that the fee was not based on the costs of handling a particular transaction.  The action also alleged that the firm (1) violated Section 36b-14(a) of the Connecticut Uniform Securities Act by failing to maintain required books and records; (2) failed to provide agency staff with copies or computer printouts of records when so requested in contravention of Section 36b-14(d) of the Act and Section 36b-31-14f of the Regulations; and (3) failed to enforce and maintain adequate supervisory procedures.  Salomon Whitney LLC was afforded an opportunity to request a hearing on the allegations in the Order to Cease and Desist, Notice of Intent to Revoke Registration as Broker-dealer and Notice of Intent to Fine.

On September 27, 2010, the Banking Commissioner entered a Consent Order (No. CO-10-7851-S) with respect to Vining-Sparks IBG, L.P., a Connecticut-registered broker-dealer having its principal office at 775 Ridge Lake Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee.  The Consent Order alleged that the firm violated Section 36b-6(b) of the Connecticut Uniform Securities Act by employing unregistered agents over an extended period of time.  The Consent Order fined the firm $20,000 and directed it to cease and desist from regulatory violations.

On September 27, 2010, the Banking Commissioner entered a Consent Order (No. CO-10-7835-S) with respect to Advisors Capital Investments, Inc., Advisor’s Capital Research, Inc. and Robert Keith Mann, president and a control person of each entity.  Advisors Capital Investments, Inc. and Advisor’s Capital Research, Inc., both of 17 Tripp Road, Woodstock, Connecticut, had applied for registration as investment advisers under the Connecticut Uniform Securities Act.  The Consent Order alleged that the Form ADV for Advisors Capital Investments, Inc., initially failed to disclose Robert Mann’s arbitration history, and that Robert Mann, in signing the Form ADV, certified its accuracy.  The Form ADV was subsequently amended.  The Consent Order directed Robert Mann to cease and desist from regulatory violations, and required that Advisors Capital Investments, Inc., and Advisor’s Capital Research, Inc., confer with an experienced securities compliance consultant for two years to ensure their compliance with the state’s securities laws.  The Consent Order also required that Advisors Capital Investments, Inc., and Advisor’s Capital Research, Inc., through Robert Mann, remit $3,500 to the Department.  Of that amount, $3,000 constituted an administrative fine and $500 would be applied to defray the agency’s investigative costs.

Advisors Capital Investments, Inc., and Advisor’s Capital Research, Inc., each became registered as an investment adviser in Connecticut on September 27, 2010.

On September 30, 2010, the Banking Commissioner entered into a Stipulation and Agreement (No. ST-10-7824-S) with Diamcor Mining, Inc., an issuer of securities located at 630-1620 Dickson, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.  The Stipulation and Agreement alleged that the company had been delinquent in making a Regulation D Rule 506 notice filing under Section 36b-21(e) of the Connecticut Uniform Securities Act with respect to an offering of units consisting of common stock and warrants.  After making the requisite filing, Diamcor Mining, Inc., agreed to pay a $650 fine and to refrain from offering or selling securities in or from Connecticut absent compliance with Section 36b-16 of the Act.

On October 1, 2010, the Banking Commissioner entered into a Stipulation and Agreement (No. ST-10-7825-S) with Zephyr Aurora Fund, L.P., an issuer of securities located at 320 Park Avenue, New York, New York.  The Stipulation and Agreement alleged that the company had been delinquent in making a Regulation D Rule 506 notice filing under Section 36b-21(e) of the Connecticut Uniform Securities Act with respect to a limited partnership interest offering occurring in 2007.  After making the requisite filing, Zephyr Aurora Fund, L.P. agreed to pay a $650 fine and to refrain from offering or selling securities in or from Connecticut absent compliance with Section 36b-16 of the Act.

On September 22, 2010, the Commissioner issued an Order to Cease and Desist and Order Imposing Civil Penalty (“Order”) In the Matter of:  Liberty Consulting Corp. (“Respondent”).  The basis of the Order was that Respondent offered to engage in debt negotiation in this state without obtaining the required license, in violation of Section 36a-671(b) of the 2010 Supplement to the General Statutes and failed to fully cooperate with the Commissioner during the course of an investigation, in violation of Section 36a-17(d) of the Connecticut General Statutes.  Respondent was ordered to cease and desist from violating Section 36a-671(b) of the 2010 Supplement to the General, and to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $13,000.  A copy of the Order can be obtained from the Department’s website, www.ct.gov/dob.