[ by Howard Haykin ]

Financial Services is like one 'Great Chase', with industry professionals - bankers, traders, salespeople, hedge fund managers, et al - singular in their obsession to chase after the world's finite, yet enormous, supply of money.  This need to accumulate money (along with highly valued tangible assets, like real property) is based on the fact that cash (and wealth) is the most widely accepted measure of tangible success on Wall Street, and in businesses throughout the entire 'civilized world'.  Those who succeed in accumulating enormous possessions or attaining high levels of net wealth, may associate their achievements with a sense of empowerment that, in turn, can lead to one's own perception of self-importance, entitlement, and lofty or outsized reputation, particularly relative to one's peers and competitors.

At that point, some choose to stop to enjoy their lofty new-found wealth, power and notoriety - although, doing so may increase the risk of becoming a "one-hit wonder" - whose reputation quickly flames out and is followed by the painful loss of social power, prestige, influence and, ultimately, banishment from one's presumed circle of friends and associates.

Avoiding this fate prompts many to do everything possible to protect or build what they have.  Depending on one's circumstances, it may not be enough to maintain the status quo - particularly in the eyes of those around them.  Greater demonstrable inflows of money is needed, which may require one to move beyond his or her level of comfort.

That said, the first avenue to take is the road that brought them to where they are right now - this means one must replicate past successes.  It that is not sufficient, new strategies or paths must be taken.  But this admittedly require that one step out beyond his or her level of comfort - such as adapting one's skill sets to today's new environment and technology.  Technology, of course, is this generation's current tool of choice for amassing success and wealth.

What's particularly fascinating about Financial Services are the multiple challenges that confront the professionals.  Like professionals in all other industry, brokers and bankers, fund managers, traders and others must adapt to the the behaviors and tendencies of the current, younger generation.  And once one is comfortably operating within that technology, they must prepare for the next generation of technology, which is likely to render today's technology as ancient.

Yet, few other industries face the demands of a Regulatory Environment that constantly shifts in response to domestic and global events and policies.  The Regulatory Landscape, which today may be tilted to favor the investment and trading strategies of banks, brokers, and large institutions, may turn on a dime to favor small and mid-sized investors.  It can happen by legislating new laws, of regulators adopting new or revised rules and regulations for its member firm.  Simply stated, the Regulatory Landscape is in a constant state of flux, that's impacted largely by these and other factors:

• new market participants who introduce a new supply of fresh capital to invest or trade;
• new and newly-reorganized firms provide different competition;
• new investors and traders, many of whom bring in new versions of the latest technology;
• new products introduced to the markets - each with unique sets of risks and rewards that must be understood by market participants and regulators;
• new risks that arise with newly-introduced strategies and investment products;
• new rules, regulations and laws from regulators - starting with the the SEC and CFTC and filtering down to their deputies - the SROs;
• new regulators, or new units within existing regulators - who introduce new perceptions and philosophies of regulation, as well as new sets of rules and regulations and priorities;  and, finally
• new hot-button priorities that regulators adopt that are, in part, influenced by global urgencies that are, themselves, influenced by wars, religion, greed, politics and nature's exigencies - e.g., floods, earthquakes, droughts.

Compliance-Insights Carves Out a Role in the Financial Business. C-I's team of professionals track all these factors, "separate the wheat from the chaff," organize the topics, news and analyses by priority to the financial services community, and report to you as quickly and succinctly as possible.

You see or hear much of the same news we do, but have less time to get the details and/or evaluate their relevance to your business, and your clients and customers' business or investments.

That's why we say: Keep track of all key movements with Compliance-Insights.   We have a way of making these discordant sounds - facts, circumstances - sound like a symphony that's transparent and relevant.