Securian Financial Services separated its CEO and Chief Compliance Officer functions by hiring a dedicated CCO and AML officer, Oddo BHF New York elevated its Chief Compliance Officer to Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer, and 23 advisory firms completed SEC registration — the highest single-day graduation count in March — across 86 total events.

Securian Financial Services Restructures Leadership

Securian Financial Services (CRD 15296) in St. Paul executed the most significant leadership restructuring of the day, separating its CEO and CCO functions into distinct roles. CEO Kimberly Kay Carpenter (CRD 4266541), who had been serving as both Chief Executive Officer and Chief Compliance Officer with AML responsibilities, relinquished the compliance title. Jessica Parrucci (CRD 7269516) joined the firm as Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer. Caleb Nicholson (CRD 6544893) joined as Secretary, replacing Keri Sue Obrien (CRD 6821352) who departed.

The separation of the CEO and CCO roles is a governance best practice that regulators have increasingly encouraged. When the same individual serves as both the chief executive and the chief compliance officer, conflicts of interest can arise — particularly when compliance obligations require challenging business decisions made by leadership. Securian's decision to hire a dedicated compliance and AML officer with a VP title signals that the firm is elevating the compliance function to an independent leadership position.

Oddo BHF New York: CCO to CEO/COO

Oddo BHF New York Corporation (CRD 45104) elevated Louis-Paul Roger (CRD 5066620) from Chief Compliance Officer to Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer. The promotion of a compliance executive to lead the firm's U.S. operations is an unusual trajectory that suggests the French financial group's New York subsidiary is prioritizing regulatory expertise in its leadership.

The move creates a CCO vacancy at the firm — a position that will need to be filled promptly given FINRA's requirement that member firms designate a Chief Compliance Officer. Whether Oddo BHF hires externally or promotes from within will be worth watching.

Delaware Distributors Elevates FINOP to CFO

Delaware Distributors, L.P. (CRD 14232) in Philadelphia promoted Stephen Hoban (CRD 5089370) from Financial and Operations Principal to Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. The FINOP-to-CFO promotion path reflects the natural progression at fund distribution firms where financial operations expertise and executive financial oversight are closely aligned.

Delaware Distributors is the broker-dealer subsidiary of Delaware Funds by Macquarie, part of the Macquarie Asset Management business. Leadership changes at fund distributors can signal broader organizational shifts in how asset managers structure their distribution operations.

PFS Investments Adds Digi Financial Brand

PFS Investments Inc. (CRD 10111) in Duluth, Georgia, added "Digi Financial" as a new doing-business-as name — one of four DBA additions recorded on the day. New DBA registrations often signal product launches, digital platform expansions, or rebranding initiatives targeting specific market segments. The "Digi" prefix suggests a digital-first offering, consistent with the broader industry trend of broker-dealers launching technology-branded advisory or distribution platforms.

23 RIA Graduations Set New March Record

Twenty-three advisory firms completed their SEC registration — surpassing the previous single-day record of 23 set on March 20 and marking the highest graduation count of the month. Four firms failed the 120-day registration process, including Thirtyone Wealth in Pensacola, Deianira Capital Management in Miami, Driftmark Capital in Austin, and a fourth firm. The successful graduations were geographically diverse, with new registrations from New York, New Jersey, Texas, California, Massachusetts, and multiple other states.

The month's cumulative RIA graduations now exceed 275 firms, putting March 2026 firmly on track as one of the strongest months for new advisory firm formation in SEC history. The acceleration in late-month graduations reflects processing of applications submitted in Q4 2025.

Seven Disclosure Changes Across Major Firms

Seven broker-dealer disclosure changes were recorded, including new arbitration and regulatory event disclosures at Truist Investment Services (CRD 17499), Alpaca Securities (CRD 288202), and LPL Financial (CRD 6413). Truist's arbitration count increased from 14 to 15, while LPL's regulatory event count rose from 221 to 222 — a reminder that even the industry's largest firms continue to accumulate disclosure events at a steady pace.

Across the Wire

The day also saw nine registration changes at firms including Cape Securities, MacArthur Strategic Capital, and RB International Markets. One BD status change was recorded at Trutoro (CRD 169291). Ten role changes, five executive departures, and eight new hires rounded out the broker-dealer activity. CCO replacements occurred at both Opes Bespoke Securities and Integrity Capital, continuing the month's elevated compliance officer turnover.

All data sourced from FINRA BrokerCheck, SEC EDGAR, and the Finleet Terminal as of March 22, 2026. Entity profiles are available at terminal.finleet.com.