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Richard Bequette
Suitability, Compliance, Supervision, Retail
Security Sales and Operations
After a successful twenty-year career in law enforcement, Mr. Bequette retired as
a Commander from the Phoenix Police Department in 1982 to begin a new career in
the securities industry. He has been a fully registered Series 24 Principal, Options
Principal and a licensed insurance agent.
From 1984 through 2002, Mr. Bequette worked in the securities industry as a Registered
Representative for Merrill Lynch and Rauscher Pierce Refsnes (Dain Rausher) and
served as a Vice President and Compliance Director for Anchor National (now SunAmerica)
and CUE Financial. This experience encompasses a major wire house, a regional broker
dealer, an insurance affiliated broker dealer and a firm doing business inside financial
institutions such as banks and credit unions, giving him a uniquely broad perspective
on the securities industry.
Mr. Bequette has been an active NASD arbitrator since 1985, serving on over thirty
arbitration panels. He was a member of the NASD District 3 Business Conduct Committee
for 2001-2002, and served as its Chairman for 2002, and has participated in several
disciplinary hearing panels. Mr. Bequette was a member of the NASD Small Firm Advisory
Board as well as the National Advisory Panel.
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Paul Bruce
Annuities, Insurance Products, Compliance, Auditing
Mr. Bruce brings nearly 30 years of experience in the financial services industry to the
work he performs as an expert witness, insurance analyst and compliance consultant.
As a fully credentialed actuary (Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and Member of the
American Academy of Actuaries) his in-depth knowledge of the life insurance and annuity
industry and its products provide a unique perspective on issues related to those products.
In his actuarial career at Provident Life Insurance Company and IDS Life Insurance Company
he designed and priced life insurance and annuity products and developed and operated
compliance programs to supervise the sale of those products. Mr. Bruce has experience as
an expert witness with a focus on those products.
In his tenure in the industry, Mr. Bruce has also served as an internal auditor responsible
for the marketing and products departments of the American Express mutual fund complex and
its insurance entities, and served as the head of compliance for that same
complex. He has also, over the past several years, served as the chief compliance officer for
Cap Pro Brokerage Services, Inc., Cap Pro’s affiliated investment advisory firm and as Cap
Pro’s President.
His expertise in litigation began in the late 1990’s when he helped IDS Life Insurance
Company defend itself against a class action lawsuit, developing analytical theories and
tools that carried through the settlement of the class action and a variety of ensuing mass
action cases. That expertise was later utilized within the company in its approach to
individual lawsuits, particularly those related to insurance and annuities.
Besides his actuarial credentials, Mr. Bruce is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA),
a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (FLMI) and is NASD Series 7 and Series 24 registered.
He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and has served on a variety of industry committees.
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Kevin Carreno
Compliance, Sales Practices, Supervision, Regulatory, Back-office Operations, Trade Processing, Margin
Mr. Carreno has over 20 years of varied experience in financial services, securities
brokerage operations, compliance and management. He joined Raymond James Financial in
1990 as Associate Corporate Counsel in the Legal Department. In 1994, Mr. Carreno was
appointed Senior Vice President for Robert Thomas Securities, Inc., a wholly owned
subsidiary of RJF. While at Robert Thomas, he oversaw the operations, compliance,
internal audit and supervision of the brokerage and investment advisory activities
of the firm, which grew from 300 brokers to just over 1200 brokers in five years.
In 1999, Robert Thomas was merged with another wholly owned subsidiary to become
Raymond James Financial Services. Mr. Carreno joined RJFS where he was responsible
for the successful integration of key functions within the merged firm.
In 2000, Mr. Carreno was selected to become the CEO of Raymond James’ start-up venture
in the United Kingdom. Mr. Carreno took the initial business plan concept and built
Raymond James Investment Services into the market leading, independent contractor
brokerage firm in the UK. Mr. Carreno has developed the firm’s systems and key controls,
hired a management team and developed the business from a start-up. At the end of 2004,
the firm had over 70 advisers operating from 31 locations throughout the UK with over
$1 billion in custody.
Since leaving Raymond James, Mr. Carreno has been appointed by the SEC and NASD to serve
as an independent consultant in several enforcement proceedings. He has directed the successful
application for authorization with the Financial Services Authority (UK regulator) on behalf
of a new investment management firm based in London, and he has prepared and implemented a
start-up business plan for an investment management firm seeking to expand distribution
in Latin America
Mr. Carreno is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy with a Bachelor of
Science in Engineering. He is also a graduate of the University of Denver College of
Law. Mr. Carreno is a member of the Bar in both Colorado and Florida. He holds numerous
securities industry licenses in both the US and UK. Mr. Carreno served in the U.S.
Air Force, both active duty and reserves, before retiring with over 27 years as a Lieutenant Colonel.
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Jack Christensen
Suitability, Compliance, Supervision, Regulatory
Mr. Christensen brings a unique diversification of credentials to the Investment Analytics
team. Mr. Christensen spent 15 years as a securities regulator with the National Association
of Securities Dealers (NASD) and, during that period, was Director of their offices in
Washington, D.C. and Denver, Colorado. Subsequent to his NASD work, Mr. Christensen spent
15 years as a principal in broker/dealer and investment advisory firms. As CEO of his firm,
he was involved with developing clientele, analyzing products, and supervising registered
representatives. Consequently, Mr. Christensen’s knowledgebase not only encompasses the rules,
regulations, securities laws, and the regulatory apparatus surrounding them, but also a
comprehensive understanding of market operations, their purpose, and how regulatory matters
impact these markets.
Since 1988, Mr. Christensen has consulted for broker/ dealers and investment advisory firms,
for both compliance and supervisory purposes. Furthermore, he has given support to both
plaintiff and respondent attorneys in arbitrations, NASD/SEC regulatory proceedings, and
litigation, in both state and federal courts involving securities matters. Finally, he
conducted workshops for Indian market makers on NASDAQ markets as a consultant for the
World Bank and the Government of India.
Mr. Christensen is a graduate of Fordham University and an officer of the United States Marine Corps.
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Taylor Drake
Risk Analysis, Asset Allocation, Options, Suitability, ERISA
Mr. Taylor Drake, CFA, is President and Owner of Wealth Strategies Group, LLC, a
registered investment advisory firm specializing in (1) managing institutional-level
portfolios for high net worth individuals and (2) providing investment consulting
services to retirement plans and other financial advisors.
Mr. Drake’s institutional investment expertise was acquired over a span of 18 years and
includes six years as a Director of Product Development and Portfolio Manager for a
$10 billion investment management firm. He also developed several mutual funds and
managed client assets in excess of $1 billion. His early career was spent with Mellon
Bank in their Tokyo office as Associate Director of their investment banking team.
Further, he worked closely with Mellon’s investment management subsidiaries and had
responsibilities as Credit Manager for the Tokyo operation.
In addition to his institutional experience, Mr. Drake has had the opportunity of
analyzing numerous retail products in the marketplace (annuities, life insurance,
etc.) and has extensive understanding of client suitability.
Mr. Drake’s received his B.A. degree in 1987 from Brigham Young University in
Economics with a minor in Japanese. In 2000 he received the Chartered Financial
Analyst (CFA) designation after completing the rigorous three-year program.
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Paul Litteau
Mr. Litteau’s career in the securities and financial services industries began in 1968.
He has been an Examiner and Supervisor of Examiners with the NASD and Director of
Internal Audit and Compliance for a large NYSE member firm. Since 1982 he has been a
consultant to domestic and international financial institutions and government
agencies in matters including regulatory standards, compliance, administration,
operations, training, corporate finance, derivatives, trading, internal controls
and corporate governance. Mr. Litteau has also taught graduate and undergraduate
level finance courses, and securities industry license preparation courses at the
entry through supervisory levels.
Mt. Litteau has been an arbitrator with FINRA (previously NASD) since 1982, and has
conducted arbitrator training programs in Chicago and Detroit.
Since 1982 Mr. Litteau has testified as an expert in hundreds of matters in Federal
and State Court, NYSE, CBOE, NFA and NASD (FINRA) Arbitrations, as well as in regulatory
disciplinary proceedings. He has been accepted in every case as an expert in a wide
range of topics including suitability, supervision, compliance and other standards
of the securities industry.
Over his career Mr. Litteau has held Series 3, 5, 7, 15, 24, 27, 63 and the NYSE
Branch Office Manager registrations. He was a member of study groups formed by
the SEC to develop the Uniform Net Capital Rule, Customer Protection Rule, SEC
Guide to Broker Dealer Compliance and other matters, and has lectured at the NASD
Examiner Training Program in Washington. His experience includes virtually all
securities, products and services offered by broker dealers.
Mr. Litteau is a graduate of Illinois Institute of Technology (Math, 1964), and Loyola
University of Chicago (MBA Finance, 1973). He also attained the United States Air
Force Professional Weather Officer Certification (Texas A&M University, 1965).
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Vincent Micciche
Annuities, Sales Practices, Insurance Instruments, Duties of Brokers and Brokers Dealers,
Industry Standards, Compliance, Supervision
Mr. Micciche began his career in the financial services industry in 1978 as a career
agent at State Mutual Life where he was trained in financial planning, insurance needs
analysis, and the sale of both insurance and securities products.
In 1983 Mr. Micciche founded Procorp Securities Inc., a full service broker/dealer and
member of NASD and SIPC. As President and Chief Compliance Officer he was responsible
for sales, compliance, operations, and finance. He subsequently formed the affiliate,
Procorp Advisory, a Registered Investment Advisor. In the ensuing nine years, he grew
the firm and concentrated on the distribution of securities and variable insurance
products in the independent brokerage channel.
In 1994, Procorp Securities joint ventured with a national consortium of brokerage general
agencies to form LifeMark Securities Corp. Mr. Micciche took the position of CEO and
Chief Compliance Officer, which he currently maintains. During his tenure, the firm
grew to a national broker/dealer with 22 Offices of Supervisory Jurisdiction across
the country serving more than 500 registered representatives. He has, since its inception,
been the NASD Executive Representative of the firm and its Financial and Operations Principal.
Mr. Micciche has the distinction of earning the NASD’s Certificate for Regulation and Compliance
Professional from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Micciche holds the following licenses and certificates:
| Series 6 |
Investment Co. and Variable Contract |
| Series 7 |
General Securities Principal |
| Series 24 |
Municipal Securities Principal |
| Series 53 |
Registered Options Principal |
| Series 4 |
General Securities |
| Series 27 |
Financial and Operations Principal |
Life, Health, Disability and Variable Contracts
Approved Instructor - NY State Insurance Continuing Education
Approved Instructor - CFP Ethics
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Jack Pierce
Suitability, Compliance, Supervision, Back-office
Mr. Jack Pierce is an experienced expert witness that is able to draw on over
30 years of retail and institutional securities experience with several major
Wall Street firms, giving him invaluable insight into the areas of supervision,
oversight and suitability.
In 2003, Mr. Pierce retired from Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette (now CS First Boston)
where he was the western regional office manager since the office's inception in 1977.
In that capacity, Mr. Pierce grew the San Francisco office to over 60 brokers and half
a billion dollars in accounts. Most recently, Mr. Pierce has co-authored two books on
investing, Winning With Index Mutual Funds 1997, and J.K. Lasser¹s Pick Winning Mutual Funds 2001.
Mr. Pierce continues to have his expertise with securities shared with the public through
articles he has written for magazines and journals, such as a column in the in-flight
magazine of Alaska Airlines. Mr. Pierce is a graduate of University of Pacific and holds
a degree in economics.
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Tom Wiltrakis
Mr. Wiltrakis brings a uniquely broad background of experience and expertise to
the Investment Analytics team.
Mr. Wiltrakis began his career as a Trust Officer at Continental Bank of Chicago
then as a retail and institutional broker for EF Hutton from 1966 through 1973.
Subsequently, he worked for the NASD ( FINRA) for 13 years as a Regional Counsel
in (Chicago, Denver and New York), Asst. Director of NASDAQ Market Surveillance,
Senior Attorney, Office of General Counsel, and, Director of NASD Arbitration.
Thereafter, Mr. Wiltrakis has worked as a Compliance Director, General Counsel,
and Director of Risk Management at some of the financial services largest companies,
Equitable, Aetna, and ING for the last twenty years.
Mr. Wiltrakis has sold securities and commodities, been a municipal and options principal,
been a compliance director, managed a litigation docket, held position of Director
of Risk Management (ING), been a general counsel of firms doing advisory, brokerage
and insurance/ annuities (Equitable, Aetna and ING), tried regulatory and arbitration
cases, testified as expert witness, conducted NASD and firm training courses, audited
Broker-Dealers, ran NASDAQ Market Surveillance Dept., wrote NASD rules and handled NASDAQ
qualification and Statutory Disqualification ( SEC Rule 19 h-1) hearings, as a Senior
Attorney in NASD’s Office of General Counsel, and has been a management executive of
major financial institutions.
Mr. Wiltrakis is a graduate of the University of Illinois (BS, Business Mgmt),
DePaul University Graduate School of Business (MBA, Business Mgmt.), and, DePaul
University School of Law (JD). He also served as an officer in the US Army as a
paratrooper and was a company commander, and was also a member of the All Army
Wrestling Team at West Point, NY.
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