3.3.2.4 Filing Requirements and Review Procedures
Within 10 business days of their first use, retail communications must be filed with FINRA’s Advertising Regulation Department:
• If their subject relates in any way to registered investment companies. An investment company is one that pools investors’ money (into a mutual fund, a closed-end fund, a variable annuity, or a face-amount certificate, for example) and trades that money on their behalf.
• If they concern government securities
• If they concern direct participation programs
• If they concern collateralized mortgage obligations
• If they concern options and are sent to current customers with an options account
• If they concern an investment analysis tool
• If they are free writing prospectuses that have been filed with the SEC
Some retail communications demand more stringent oversight, requiring that they be filed 10 business days prior to their first application and withheld from publication until receiving FINRA approval. These are:
• Investment company retail communications that include performance rankings or comparisons with other investment companies when the ranking is not generally published or created by the firm
• Retail communications concerning security futures
• Any retail communication from a FINRA member firm in its first year of operation (as measured from the date its FINRA membership became effective)
Finally, advertisements and retail communications concerning options that are sent to prospective customers must be filed 10 calendar days before they may be used.
All filings to FINRA must include the actual or anticipated date of first use, the name, and title of the principal who approved the retail communication, and the date that the approval was given.
Any member firm’s written and electronic communications with the public are also subject to spot checks by FINRA.
FINRA Rule 2210