MEMBER SPOTLIGHT INTERVIEW: STEVEN M. GREENBAUM
MEET STEVEN M. GREENBAUM OF FSDA CORPORATE MEMBER, TRADESTATION SECURITIES, INC.
We are speaking today with Steven M. Greenbaum, Senior Vice President and General Counsel of TradeStation Securities, Inc.
Steve, please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Answer: I was born and raised in Cleveland Ohio, the son of the youngest person, at the time, to become a Merrill Lynch branch manager. When I had the chance to “escape” the freezing north, I headed to New Orleans for college at Tulane University where I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Public Policy, along with my law degree. My first real job was with a group of lawyers at a Florida law firm whose specialty was securities defense litigation. I started practicing in the early 1980’s when the law regarding mandatory arbitration was still developing. Following the stock market crash of October 1987, I joined PaineWebber as a litigator, handling scores of arbitrations, many of which were filed following the crash. By the mid-1990’s, I joined PaineWebber’s Legal Counseling Group where I provided advice and counsel to retail branch offices in Florida and other southern states. By the late 1990’s-around the time PaineWebber was acquired by UBS-I was promoted to manage the Legal Counseling Group, a position I held until I resigned from UBS at the end of 2005, for a brief stint as a sole practitioner, before joining TradeStation in 2008. For years, I have been a FINRA non-public arbitrator and a Florida Supreme Court-certified mediator.
How long have you served as General Counsel of TradeStation?
Answer: Since 2009.
Tell us about your typical day as the General Counsel of TradeStation.
Answer: Each day starts with a manager’s huddle where business initiatives, the market and legal, compliance and risk issues are discussed in a collaborative setting. Thereafter, I meet with my team (which consists of the AML and Fraud Prevention groups) to make sure we are doing everything possible to help manage risk, enhance the client experience and remain compliant with the securities laws and regulations. Each day is chock full of meetings (Legal always has a seat at the table), and I also administer TradeStation’s dispute resolution process which involves handling directly, or through outside counsel, arbitrations, CFTC reparations and court cases. I also partner regularly with the Chief Legal Officer of our holding company and our affiliate’s contracts attorney.
Why is it important for TradeStation to be a member of the FSDA?
Answer: Although TradeStation is not a typical broker-dealer (we neither make recommendations nor offer investment advice to our self-directed online trading clients), as a Florida-based company with many Florida-licensed representatives, we are still subject to the same rules and regulations that govern full-service broker-dealers. I believe that it is important to network with and share our somewhat unique perspective on the securities industry with representatives from all types of brokerage and advisory firms, and to collectively advocate for fair laws designed to protect the investing public. We, at TradeStation, also embrace the FSDA’s mission to provide education opportunities for Florida’s investing public, a goal that falls squarely in line with TradeStation’s mission to encourage investors and traders to gain more knowledge so that they can make better investment and trading decisions.
I know that you are very involved with I Care I Cure Childhood Cancer Foundation, Inc. Please tell us a little bit about this organization and your involvement as Co-President.
Answer: I Care I Cure’s mission is to fight childhood cancer by: (1) funding childhood cancer research with an emphasis on cutting-edge, targeted therapies to make treatments gentler and more tolerable; (2) raising the public’s awareness about scientific breakthroughs in genetic childhood cancer research that are within reach, but seriously underfunded; and (3) funding community outreach programs to help local families manage the challenges associated with raising children suffering from cancer. As a parent of a child who suffered, but endured, the ravages of chemotherapy, I am passionately committed to helping families fight this dreaded disease. I am proud to serve as Co-President of this great local charity with Wes Holston, Managing Principal of Bressler Amery & Ross, also a FSDA member.
Steve, thanks for taking time to speak with us today.
