Associated Persons Registration
All persons engaged in the securities business, other than bank dealers, are subject to registration requirements under FINRA rules and must pass one or more qualifying exams. Registration is specific to a member firm, meaning that if an individual switches to another dealer, it will have to amend its registration.
The MSRB recognizes two broad categories of individuals for registration: representatives and principals.
A principal is a person actively engaged in the management of the member’s securities business, including sole proprietors, officers, partners, and managers.
A representative is any other person who solicits or conducts business in the securities business, including research analysts and broker-dealer trainers.
Anyone who is registered by FINRA, as either a principal or representative, may be more generically referred to as an associated person.
MSRB Rule G-7 describes th