PFP Briefs

NASD ENFORCEMENT CHIEF STEPS DOWN: Barry Goldsmith, the enforcement chief of brokerage regulator NASD, will step down in March to return to private law practice, and his deputy James Norris was named as his acting replacement. Goldsmith, 56, will become a partner at law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher in Washington, a firm known for its securities practice. Goldsmith joined NASD, then known as the National Association of Securities Dealers, a decade ago. As enforcement chief, he led investigations into initial public stock offerings by big securities dealers and conflicts of interest involving research analysts, as well as mutual fund and hedge fund misconduct - including overseeing penalties against Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo.According to NASD, the number of new enforcement actions under Goldsmith reached record levels, from 975 in 1995, to 1,399 in 2005. Fines collected rose to $127.5 million in 2005, from $5.3 million in 1995.

Goldsmith's departure was the second high-profile personnel change in a week. Mary Schapiro, president of NASD Regulation Inc. since 1996, has been named to succeed Robert Glauber as the regulator's chairman and chief executive. She will take over the post at the close of this year.

AICPA CAMPAIGN GARNERS PLATINUM AWARD: The 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy program from the American Institute of CPAs has garnered the 2005 Magellan Platinum Award from the League of American Communications Professionals. The 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy program was also recognized by the LACP as one of the top 50 communications campaigns of 2005.

The Magellan is the 10th award that the program has won since its inception in May 2004. A multi-pronged effort spearheaded by the AICPA with the support of state CPA societies, 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy encourages CPAs to take a leadership role in volunteering to educate the American public, from school children to retirees, on a variety of financial topics. For more information, visit www.360financialliteracy.org.

CROWE WEALTH POSTS TRIPLE-DIGIT GROWTH: Crowe Wealth Management, a unit of national CPA and business advisory firm Crowe Group, said that it has exceeded $550 million in client assets under advisement, less than three years after being established. At the end of 2004, Crowe Wealth had $155 million under advisement. Crowe Wealth was formed in 2003 as a joint venture with the Oxford Financial Group Ltd., an Indianapolis-based financial advisory firm.

"Crowe Wealth was designed to provide clients with an independent and comprehensive approach to building wealth and realizing their financial goals," said Crowe Group chief executive Mark Hildebrand, in a statement.

ALLIANZ DONATIONS TO FFP HIT $1M: Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America has made a $500,000 donation to the Foundation for Financial Planning. Along with previous support from Alliance Global Investors, this brings the Allianz Group's total grant support to $1 million.

The foundation said that the Allianz donation would help sustain the foundation's endowment fund and its subsequent grants to nonprofit organizations throughout the country that are designed to help people take control of their financial lives by connecting the financial planning community with those in need of financial guidance.

DICERBO TAPPED AS INAUGURAL INDUCTEE TO TAC HALL OF FAME: Financial services veteran Lou DiCerbo, CLU, ChFC, has become the first-ever inductee into the Hall of Fame at The American College.

The Hall of Fame was designed to recognize graduates of the college's designation or degree programs who have made extraordinary contributions in time, effort and energy.

A volunteer at the college for 25 years, DiCerbo also served on the board of trustees for six years and has been a member of all of the college's committees. He chaired the Golden Key Society at TAC, raising almost $5 million. A veteran of insurance financial services, DiCerbo was named manager of the New York agency of Penn Mutual in 1967, when it ranked No. 76 out of 100 agencies in the organization. Within a decade under DiCerbo's auspices, the office became No. 1 in the Penn Mutual system, a ranking that it retained for 19 years.

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