CFP Board Announces Members of Independent Task Force on Enforcement

Group is comprised of experts in enforcement and compliance

Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards today announced the members of the Independent Task Force on Enforcement created by the organization’s Board of Directors.

The task force, led by former Texas state regulator and Board of Directors public member Denise Voigt Crawford, was formed in late July. The Task Force is charged with examining CFP Board’s current enforcement program and making actionable recommendations to the Board of Directors for improvements. The Task Force’s recommendations and report will be made public after the Board’s November 2019 meeting. The Task Force’s members were selected by Crawford and will be working independently of staff and the Board of Directors.

“These individuals have the experience, integrity and forward-thinking approach that will serve the Task Force and CFP Board well,” said Crawford. “I look forward to all of us rolling up our sleeves and working together to identify ways we can improve the organization’s enforcement program for the benefit of the public.”

In addition to Crawford, members of the Task Force include:

Mercer Bullard, Butler Snow Lecturer and Professor of Law, University of Mississippi School of Law

A well-known expert on securities law, Bullard is the Butler Snow Lecturer and Professor of Law at the University of Mississippi School of Law, where he teaches courses on securities, banking and corporations and serves as the Director of the Business Law Institute. 

In addition to his teaching, Bullard is an advocate for investors, having founded the advocacy group Fund Democracy, where he serves as its president. Bullard has testified before Congress on more than 20 occasions, published dozens of business law commentaries and articles, led successful advocacy initiatives, made presentations before the U.S. Labor Department, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), FINRA, NASAA and other groups, and provided expert witness services for the SEC, various states and private plaintiffs and defendants. 

Previously, Bullard clerked at the U.S. Court of Appeals, was in private practice at WilmerHale and was the Assistant Chief Counsel for the Division of Investment Management at the SEC.

He has a bachelor’s degree from Yale, a Master of Science Degree from Georgetown University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia. He is currently a candidate for a PhD in finance at the University of Mississippi.

Michael Huggs, Director of the Mississippi Secretary of State Securities Division

Huggs is a veteran state securities regulator, currently serving as Director of the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Securities Division, which he joined in 2001.  In addition to overseeing the overall operations of the Division, his duties include examinations of brokerage firms and investment advisers as well as conducting investigations of possible violations of the Mississippi Securities Act.

An investor advocate, Huggs also actively participated in the Mississippi Secretary of State’s investor education programs as a speaker for the Jump Start Coalition “Money Matters” seminars, which promoted financial literacy to high school students. 

Huggs serves as Chairman of the North American Securities Administrators Association’s Investment Adviser Operations Project Group.  He also serves in the Mississippi State Guard and as a reserve deputy with the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department.

Prior to joining the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Securities Division, Huggs worked in retail investments and commodities.  He is a graduate of the University of Mississippi and is a Certified Fraud Examiner. 

Richard Salmen, CFP®, former Chair of CFP Board’s Board of Directors

Salmen is widely respected within the financial planning profession, having served on CFP Board’s Board of Directors from 2015 through 2018 and as its Chair of the Board in 2018. He was also the president of the Financial Planning Association® (FPA®) in 2009, at the height of the financial crisis. While president of FPA, he and his colleagues at CFP Board and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors helped to form the Financial Planning Coalition, which advocates for public policy initiatives that protect investors and advance the financial planning profession.

Professionally, Salmen is President of the Family Investment Center in its suburban office located outside of Kansas City, Mo. Salmen served on active duty in the U.S. Army and as a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserve. For nearly 25 years, Salmen was also an air traffic controller in Kansas until his retirement in 2013.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Kansas.

Nancy M. Smith, Executive Vice President, Corporate Secretary, AARP

A pioneer in the field of investor protection and education, Smith has 20-plus years of experience in the financial services industry and as a regulator. Smith is currently AARP’s Corporate Secretary, overseeing corporate governance and board relations.

Prior to joining AARP, Smith worked at an online brokerage, FOLIOfn, served as the State of New Mexico’s Director of Securities, headed up the Office of Investor Education and Assistance at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and served on the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance, where she was responsible for securities legislation and oversight activities as senior finance counsel. She currently serves on FINRA’s Investor Issues Advisory Committee.

She earned a bachelor’s degree and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University.