ProEquities CEO Announces Candidacy for FINRA Large Firms Seat
Chris Flint, the president and CEO of ProEquities, 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.
Chris Flint, the president and CEO of ProEquities, 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. ProEquities is an independent financial advisory and brokerage firm and subsidiary of Protective Life Corporation.
Flint has been endorsed by two industry trade groups, the Financial Services Institute and the Bank Insurance & Securities Association.
“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,” said Flint. “I will focus on changing this, and I will leverage what I’ve learned throughout the course of my career to do so.”
Flint claims that he will “prioritize ending rulemaking by enforcement, enhancing transparency and making it easier for firms to work with its primary regulator.” He believes the industry should do more to create a level playing field between broker-dealers and RIAs to end what he calls “regulatory arbitrage.”
He believes that “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.”
Flint also noted that “the industry must do more to educate regulators to counter their misperceptions about financial services firms,” specifically the “erroneous perception that firms that focus on retail financial advice lack sophistication and strategic depth.”
Ballots have been distributed to FINRA members and must be mailed back to FINRA by August 19.
Founded in 1985, ProEquities is an RIA and a broker-dealer that supports more than 600 independent advisors nationwide with $17 billion in client assets as of June 30, 2019.
The DI Wire does not endorse any specific candidate for the FINRA board.
