Securities dealer talks on investors

With the cutthroat nature of today's business world, the rights of the investor and fair tactics are not often top priorities. Mary Shapiro, however, presented a different prospective with emphasis on protecting the investor. Shapiro -- who has served as the president of the regulatory division of the National Association of Securities Dealers -- delivered a speech Thursday focusing on the functions of NASD as well as the problems she has worked to solve in the securities industry. The speech in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall -- attended by more than 30 students -- was followed by a one-hour question and answer session. According to Shapiro, every one of America's 5,000 brokerage firms must be a member of NASD, the country's regulatory securities agency. The NASD performs several key functions -- including on-site auditing, disciplinary actions, dispute resolution, insuring that bankers are adequately qualified and operating and regulating the NASDAQ market. Shapiro, who has also worked on the Securities Exchange and Securities Trading commissions, is considered by one expert to have "saved the world financial system." Now at NASD, Shapiro has helped reform an agency that had a "lack of organizational structure," creating two separate subsidiaries of NASD to assist in regulation. Shapiro also told the audience of the lessons and strategies she has learned as a securities regulator. She said these strategies will be used to obtain her ultimate goal -- the reversal of the "firms first, investors second" attitude in the securities industry. Emphasizing the use of an organization's board as a "think tank, consulting firm and sounding board," she pointed to the importance of actions like goal recognition, rewarding success and trusting one's instincts. Shapiro also stated the importance of teamwork over autocracy, telling the audience never to "neglect your own employees." Several students said Shapiro's speech showed her dynamic leadership in the much-maligned securities industry. Wharton graduate student Steve Pismenny noted that her speech was "very informative." He added that, in light of recent negative press towards the securities industry, Shapiro offered a "more balanced viewpoint." And Wharton junior Paula Poskon noted that Shapiro gave a clear and concise presentation. "I didn't know much about the regulatory body," she said. "I was impressed with her willingness to be candid." Shapiro's speech was the first in a four-part lecture series sponsored by the Wharton School of Business.