Marilyn Sponzo practices primarily in the area of securities and insurance product distribution, including mutual funds, variable annuities and variable life at Jorden Burt.
She has spent two decades working in broker-dealer regulation, not only providing legal advice to clients in private practice, but also working as the chief compliance officer for one of the nation's largest insurance-affiliated broker-dealers.
As Vice President, Distribution Compliance, for a major northeastern life insurance company, Ms. Sponzo managed a 65-person division responsible for ensuing that the activities of producers affiliated with the carrier and its broker-dealers complied with applicable securities and insurance regulations. She also served as chief compliance officer, anti-money laundering officer and chief privacy officer of the carrier's retail broker-dealer/investment adviser with 4,500 registered representatives, and its primary underwriter/distributor of proprietary variable products. Her responsibilities included: designing field inspection programs and transaction surveillance systems; creating anti-money laundering programs; conducting product and sponsor due diligence; and creating and conducting security training programs for registered representatives, including Home Office personnel.
Ms. Sponzo counsels clients on: broker-dealer formation and operation; developing supervisory policies and procedures; developing supervisory control programs; handling securities regulatory and enforcement matters; insurance and investment suitability issues; third party distribution and revenue-sharing arrangements; non-cash compensation matters; investigation and resolution of sales practice violations and customer complaints; and securities advertising and marketing.