MEET Hank Sanchez, Managing Director, Bates Group LLC.
Hank, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
I am a seasoned compliance and legal professional with over 30 years of securities industry experience working with a wide range of companies, from small financial firms to national clients. I have extensive expertise in risk management, investment advising, financial legal issues, risk assessment, compliance, and due diligence. I was raised in Bayonne, NJ and graduated from Richard Stockton State College, Pomona, NJ (B.A. in Criminal Justice). In between college and law school I was a New Jersey State Trooper. I went on to earn a J.D. from Rutgers-Newark law school, and then an LLM in Securities Regulation from Georgetown University Law School. For over a decade, I worked as a regulator for the SEC, and enforcement counsel for NASD n/k/a FINRA. I have worked in private practice both in Tampa and in Washington, DC. I have served as general counsel for a broker-dealer in Lakeland, FL, as a compliance officer for TIAA CREF, and as CCO for LPL Financial. I joined Bates Group in 2019 and now work closely with the Bates Compliance team on compliance projects and regulatory enforcement matters. This includes expert consultation and testimony.
Tell us a little about your firm.
Bates Group assists clients with litigation support, data analysis, and compliance consulting, regulatory and internal investigations, and AML and financial crimes. The Bates Compliance team consists of experienced industry professionals who provide comprehensive offerings for broker-dealer, registered investment adviser and hybrid clients, assisting them with supervision, compliance, risk, AML, and internal audit functions. Bates Compliance performs as-needed or ongoing reviews and guidance to meet your regulatory compliance obligations. Our seasoned professionals closely review and test policies and procedures, supervisory and compliance processes, and the related practices involved in operating your business, recommending changes and industry standards to supplement and enhance clients' compliance and supervisory systems, and remediate the results of regulatory, litigation, and internal audit findings and decisions.
Our Regulatory Investigations practice team works closely with regional and multi-national financial services firms, law firms, and federal and state regulators.
Our role is that of a partner to our clients and their counsel, bringing our technical, industry and managerial expertise to address the issues and support their work through a full and final resolution.
Why is it important for the Bates Group, to be a member of the FSDA?Personally, while living in the Tampa area for about 10 years, I joined FSDA during the 1990’s, and found the FSDA to be so helpful to its members and to the local communities. Bates itself has deep ties to the Florida financial community and the counsel who serve them for over four decades. FSDA is at the forefront of providing financial and regulatory education to its members, the community as a whole, and to students. FSDA also takes the lead on important investor protection legislation. Finally, the ability to network with many of its members’, who span all levels of the financial services industry, helps all members grow their knowledge.
Please tell us a little bit about your firm’s “give something back” initiative.
Bates empowers their employees to learn about the world and their impact on their communities. Many of our employees are involved in local organizations as featured on our “Bates in the Community” page. On employee/affiliate anniversaries, Bates donates to a charity of their choice. Last year, in addition to Pace Center for Girls, Hillsborough, our 2020 charitable recipients included: Oceana, Feeding America, The Humane Society and the Equal Justice Initiative.
Personally, for over 20 years, approximately 6-8 times per year, I head to my local blood bank and donate platelets. Platelets help form clots and stop bleeding. They are essential to help cancer patients, burn victims, and those with major injuries. Platelets have a shelf-life of only five days, whereas blood has a shelf-life of over a month. So, the need for platelets is immediate and constant. I have never known who receives those platelets; the important thing is that I know the platelets go to someone in dire need.
Hank, thanks for taking time to speak with us today.
