Financial services firm Merriman Curhan Ford Group has appointed Howard Bernstein as chief compliance officer. His appointment is part of the firm’

s efforts to rebuild its compliance and regulatory functions by separating those functions from its legal department, CEO Peter Coleman said in a prepared statement.

In his new role, Bernstein will oversee the implementation of compliance and regulatory best practices on behalf of the firm’

s stakeholders. He will report directly to Coleman, and will work closely with Dennis Arcilla, managing director and head of regulatory affairs.

Bernstein brings more than 10 years of experience in broker-dealer compliance and legal leadership roles. He was most recently with Wedbush Securities, where he served as director of capital markets business conduct and legal. Prior to joining Wedbush, Bernstein was director of compliance and general counsel at Pacific Growth Equities. He also served as vice president of compliance at Robertson Stephens. Bernstein began his securities industry career as a staff member on the trading floor of the Pacific Options Exchange.