Press Releases
Paige Pierce, RW Smith CEO, Elected Chair, FINRA District Three Committee
NEWS RELEASE
July 7, 2010
SEATTLE / SALT LAKE CITY –- Wed., July 7 –- Paige Pierce, RW Smith President and CEO, has been elected Chair of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) District Three committee effective June 30, (www.rwsbroker.com) according to a company spokesperson.
District Three encompasses the Western region of the U.S. and includes Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, and Nevada.
According to Ms. Pierce, “FINRA believes in the power of investor protection through education, and in market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and compliance. I am proud to chair this committee.”
FINRA is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the U.S. and oversees about 4,700 brokerage firms, 167,000 branch offices, and 635,000 registered securities representatives. It was created in 2007 through the consolidation of NASD and the member regulation, enforcement and arbitration functions of the New York Stock Exchange. Its Investor Education Foundation is the largest of its kind in the U.S., and as of April 2009, had approved close to $46 million in investor education and protection initiatives through a combination of grants and targeted projects
Ms. Pierce was first elected to serve on the District Three Committee in April 2008 for a three-year term. Her term as Chair is for one year. She is recognized in the industry as an advocate for small firms in particular, and is committed to bringing greater access and transparency of prices to the fixed-income markets.
To bring about change in the small firms and IDB sectors, Ms. Pierce serves on numerous financial committees including: The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Membership Committee, Small Firms Advisory Committee, Municipal Executive Committee, Interdealer Brokers Advisory Committee, Municipal Securities Broker’s Broker Committee, and The National Association of Independent Broker Dealers.
Ms. Pierce is a co-founder of the Women in the Investment Industry PSA group and was Chair of the Pacific Region – U.S. of the Young President’s Organization Women’s International Network from 2007 through 2009.
Headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., RW Smith, www.rwsbroker.com, is an interdealer broker in the fixed income (debt) markets specializing in corporate and municipal bonds. In spite of the worst economic downturn in 75 years, in 2009 RW Smith opened three new offices, hired 10 key personnel, and launched a new online trading platform increasing productivity over 500 percent.
The company also changed its licensing structure from that of a Municipal Securities Broker’s Broker, (MSBB), to a full-service Fixed-Income Interdealer Broker. This enables it to facilitate B2B trades of all fixed-income products (not just municipal bonds) and greatly expands its market.
For More Information:
Sharon Spaulding
Outside the Box: 801-918-9995