The mother lode of sweeps? And, nope, Mr. Bond, it’s nothing quite as clandestine as an undercover patting down of a room for listening devices.

Overactive imagination much, James?

According to fa-mag.com, there’s a gargantuan sweep of multiple states of broker dealers to gain a sense of just how effective their Regulation Best Interest implementation will be completed early next year. 

Last November, violations and, rampant, at that -- centering around retail advice and sales – reared themselves through similar multi state exams, which encompassed 443 firms, the site continued. That was despite the fact that, for more than 15 months, by then, Reg Bi had been in place.

Meantime, someone say “grace period?”

--Yes, indeed, and quite succinctly at that. And the one that pulled up to the station in the aftermath of Reg Bi’s implementation date wound to its conclusion with financial firms starting to face the first round of enforcement actions from regulators under Reg BI, according to stradley.com.

--Reg Bi was earmarked a priority by the Securities and Exchange Commission. What does that mean for firms? Well, it’s incumbent upon them to have in place the right people, processes and technology in place so they’re still in compliance.