BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ProEquities, a leading independent financial advisory and brokerage firm, and a subsidiary of Protective Life Corporation, today announced that its President and CEO Chris Flint has launched his candidacy for the Large Firms seat in this year’s FINRA Board of Governors’ election, happening from July 19 through August 19.
Mr. Flint said, “I encourage all FINRA member firms to vote for me for the Board of Governors’ Large Firms Seat. I have launched my candidacy because I am committed to ensuring a strong future for the financial advice industry. I believe the best way to serve and protect retail investors is to ensure that firms focused on the delivery of financial advice are sufficiently represented on the Board. Throughout my career working with independent, wirehouse, credit union and insurance-owned broker-dealers, I have heard colleagues lament the underrepresentation of their firms on the FINRA Board. I will focus on changing this, and I will leverage what I’ve learned throughout the course of my career to do so.”
Mr. Flint’s campaign reported the receipt of formal endorsements for his candidacy from the two leading advocacy groups in the financial advice industry, the Financial Services Institute and the Bank Insurance and Securities Association.
The campaign noted that Chris Flint is committed to bringing fresh perspectives to the Board that represent the diversity of all member firms equally. In particular, he will focus on the following key goals:
- End rulemaking by enforcement: Mr. Flint will prioritize ending rulemaking by enforcement, enhancing transparency and making it easier for firms to work with our primary regulator. He believes that operating under the looming fear of retroactive enforcement is no way to do business. He will work to encourage more transparency with our regulators to establish clearly delineated rules that are developed through an inclusive process.
- Serve as a voice for financial advice-focused firms and their clients: Mr. Flint believes that FINRA’s Board needs fresh perspectives and new voices representing the views of all financial services firms, financial advisors and their clients. Firms focused on the delivery of financial advice, including life, annuity and fixed income solutions, need a more prominent and unified voice in educating the FINRA Board on what they do and the value they provide to retail investors.
- Provide objective representation: Mr. Flint believes as an industry, we must do more to educate regulators to counter their misperceptions about our firms. There continues to be an erroneous perception that firms that primarily or exclusively focus on retail financial advice lack sophistication and strategic depth. To counter this bias, the FINRA Board must include members who recognize the criticality of this segment that serves an ever-growing share of U.S. investors.
- Level the playing field: Mr. Flint believes the industry should do more to create a level playing field between broker-dealers and RIAs to end “regulatory arbitrage.” With the passage of Reg BI, there is an unprecedented opportunity to drive greater alignment across the industry.
Mr. Flint concluded, “With 23 years of experience serving in virtually every major function in the financial services profession – including leadership of two major independent broker-dealers and executive leadership of distribution companies serving independent, wirehouse, bank and credit union broker-dealers, as well as extensive experience in equity and fixed income trading, technology, operations, compliance and sales supervision – I bring a strong background in supporting the delivery of retail financial advice and a truly unique awareness of the needs of firms across the entire base of FINRA’s membership. I am committed to promoting broader diversity across the financial services industry, and I urge all FINRA members who want to drive a better future for our industry to vote for me in this year’s FINRA Board elections.”
Ballots have been distributed to FINRA members potentially as early as July 19, and the election will conclude on August 19. All ballots must be mailed back to FINRA by voting members in advance of the election conclusion date.
For more information about Chris Flint’s campaign, please visit www.ChrisWFlint.com.
ABOUT PROEQUITIES
Founded in 1985, ProEquities, member FINRA/SIPC, is a RIA and a broker/dealer. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, this wholly-owned subsidiary of Protective Life Corporation supports more than 600 independent advisors nationwide with $17 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2019, as investment advisor representatives and registered representatives, as well as financial advisors who work through hybrid service models. For more information on ProEquities, please visit www.Proequities.com.
ABOUT PROTECTIVE
Protective Life Corporation (Protective) provides financial services through the production, distribution and administration of insurance and investment products throughout the U.S. Protective traces its roots to its flagship company, Protective Life Insurance Company – founded in 1907. Throughout its more than 110-year history, Protective’s growth and success can be largely attributed to its ongoing commitment to serving people and doing the right thing – for its employees, distributors, and most importantly, its customers. Protective’s home office is located in Birmingham, Alabama, and its 3,000+ employees are located in offices across the United States. As of March 31, 2019, Protective had assets of approximately $92 billion. Protective Life Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, Inc. (TSE:8750). For more information about Protective, please visit www.Protective.com.