top of page

FINRA & SEC Compliance Consultant

FINRA & SEC Compliance Expert Witness

William O'Connor - FINRA & SEC Compliance Consultant

William O'Connor

With over 25 years of securities industry experience William O’Connor provides expert advice, guidance and testimony to Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisors with an objective and unbiased focus.  In addition to guidance on risk reduction techniques Mr. O’Connor provides securities consulting and interim Chief Compliance Officer services.  Through his acquired experiences, Mr. O’Connor developed a comprehensive understanding of the securities rules along with best practices to ensure compliance. 

As a Chief Compliance Officer, Mr. O’Connor managed the firm-wide compliance for a mid-size B/D and RIA, from onboarding new associates and conducting suitability reviews, to leading due diligence investigations for Reg D, A, A+ offerings and responding to regulatory requests.  When you need to add a business line and FINRA informs you a CMA (Continuing Membership Agreement) is necessary, Mr. O’Connor is a specialist who has obtained approval for numerous CMAs.  If you need a professional to conduct and/or improve your supervisory controls/written procedures, active-account reviews, branch inspections, Form ADV, FOCUS filings, complex-product suitability reviews or due diligence analysis Mr. O’Connor is the consultant available to you. 

​

Mr. O’Connor has conducted hundreds of investigations into customer complaints involving the conversion of funds, suitability/churning, options, misrepresentation, and many other bad-actor conduct and participated in regulatory proceedings on behalf of FINRA.  Through these reviews, he has become an expert in securities products both common to retail investors along with complex investments that are limited to specific investors. 

Professional Experience

  

  • ​Landolt Securities Inc. 2016 – 2022; Chief Compliance Officer for B/D & RIA

    • Supervised all compliance functions including account opening, securities trading, registration/hiring, OBA/PST reviews, advertising, annual 3120 Supervisory Control review, FINRA Firm Element training and annual licensing renewals 

    • Improved branch inspection program by developing branch inspection review form and conducted numerous branch inspections 

    • Successfully completed numerous CMA requests with FINRA to expand business operations or modify ownership 

    • Developed the following critical forms/disclosures:

      • Qualification form for Structured Products​

      • Form CRS

      • Retirement Plan Rollover Suitability form to comply with the DoL PTE 2020-02

      • OBA/PST Disclosure form 

    • Materially enhanced suitability forms for Variable Annuity and 1035 exchanges 

    • Implemented Active Account reviews to surveil active accounts and reduce risk exposure to the firm 

    • Prepared annual Form ADV/brochure 

    • Prepared professional responses to regulatory inquiries from the SEC, FINRA and individual states and assisted with the preparation of required financial reports (FOCUS, SSOI, SIS, etc.) 

    • Materially improved the firm’s due diligence review process for Reg. D, A, A+ offerings and the suitability forms for private placements 

    • Reviewed the firm’s WSPs and Anti-Money Laundering program annually and prepared required amendments to the written procedures 

    • Developed and conducted Heightened Supervision reviews​​

  

  • FINRA 1998 – 2016; Compliance Specialist​

    • Monitored Member Firms’ compliance with industry rules and led risk-based examinations

    • Analyzed financial reports (FOCUS & annual audit reports) for a divergence of broker-dealers and prepared analysis addressing exceptions

    • Prepared detailed reports of investigations including preliminary scoping, review steps, testing, analysis and conclusions

    • Analyzed broker-dealers business activities in order to develop appropriate investigative samples

    • Conducted reviews of secured demand loan requests for compliance with the securities rules

    • Investigated hundreds of customer complaints and representative terminations (U5s) and prepared written reports summarizing my investigation and findings and participated in numerous formal proceedings

    • Conducted on-the-record interviews with registered representatives during investigations with detailed preparation undertaken to identify and obtain the evidence necessary to pursue citations

    • Assisted in training and mentoring new examiners

​

​

Education

 

  • Western Illinois University

    • Bachelor of Science – Major Business Finance

​

Qualifications

​

  • Securities Qualifications (maintained under FINRAs MQP):

    • Series 7 – General Securities Representative Examination

    • Series 9/10 – General Securities Sales Supervisor Examination

    • Series 24 – General Securities Principal Examination

    • Series 52 – Municipal Securities Representative Examination

    • Series 53 – Municipal Securities Principal Examination*

​

*Not included in FINRA MQP

  ​

William O'Connor is retained as a
Consultant & Expert Witness for the following:
Court

  • Supervisory Controls

  • Written Procedures

  • Suitability Reviews

  • Branch Inspections

  • Heightened Supervision

  • Form ADV

  • Active-Account Reviews

  • Securities Trading

  • Due Diligence for Reg D, A, A+ offerings

  • FOCUS Filings

  • Complex-Products

  • Conversion of Funds

  • Suitability/Churning

  • Options

  • Misrepresentation

  • Registration/Hiring

  • OBA/PST Reviews

  • Advertising

  • Annual 3120 Supervisory Control Review

  • FINRA Firm Element Training

  • Annual Licensing Renewals

  • Surveillance

  • Anti-Money Laundering

  • Regulation D, A, & A+ offerings

Modern Office Building

For general inquiries or a complimentary case analysis by Mr. O'Connor, please use our contact form:

bottom of page