J. Bradley Bennett is to leave his position as chief of enforcement at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), effective from early 2017.
Having held the position for almost six years, Bennett is returning to private practice.
Susan Schroeder, deputy head of enforcement, has been appointed as acting head while FINRA searches for a replacement, considering both internal and external candidates.
Bennett joined FINRA in January 2011, as executive vice president and chief of enforcement. He oversaw 300 enforcement staff in 14 district offices throughout the US.
Before this, he worked at Baker Botts, specialising in financial and securities law violations.
Under Bennett’s leadership, FINRA’s enforcement division took action on preventing fraudulent conduct, including use of temporary cease and desist orders. Significant cases taken on in this time included variable annuity violations, a multi-firm conflict-of-interest settlement, and sanctions for supervisory failures and anti-money laundering violations.
Bennett is also credited with reorganising the enforcement team to improve the effectiveness of its litigation function.
Susan Axelrod, FINRA executive vice president and head of regulatory operations, said: “As a regulator, Brad Bennett’s first priority has always been to protect investors and the markets, and this is evident by the quality of cases brought under his leadership, many of which included meaningful restitution to harmed customers.”
Bennett said: “Working with my colleagues across FINRA on issues critical to its mission has been a great honour.”
“FINRA’s role has never been more important to preserving confidence in the markets, and I am proud to have contributed to its success. The enforcement staff’s talent and dedication resulted in significant cases across a broad range of areas essential to investor protection, and being a part of their team was the highlight of my career.”
