I am a registered associate at a broker/dealer who doesn't earn commissions but I do recieve compensation from the brokers I support. I have been told that I am not allowed to open a trading account anywhere outside of the firm, it could be grounds for termination. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to work around this issue?
If you want to remain in compliance, then ask them what you need to do in order to get an outside account approved. If there's nothing you can do, then you got your answer quickly. It's a real pain for you and the firm, so don't expect this to be easy.
This is common practice among the financial firms. I was lucky enough to be able to still trade when I was a T. Rowe Price. However, we were not allowed to trade (only for investment)TROW without permission. One guy I worked with was trading about a mil a month in various stocks and they started giving him shit and was basically told to choose. He quit. Good for him.
if your dad/mom doesn't live with you, open an account in their name and trade through that. Say @#$% to broker dealer compliance! If Steve jobs had followed all the laws to the point, he wouldn't have been Steve jobs. So don't hesitate, if you really feel like you need an account and want to trade, open in someone's else name. Warning: Don't tell about this to anyone - including your wife. Your account might go tapioca, in 2yrs your wife/gf might leave you and sue and things will be in open and you will lose your job. So, it has to be absolutely confidential.