FINRA

Exam Alert: Delayed results for new Series 99 exam candidates

FINRA announced last week that if you take the Series 99 within the first 60 days of October 17, 2011, your exam result will not be Continue reading

FINRA announced last week that if you take the Series 99 within the first 60 days of October 17, 2011, your exam result will not be provided to you the day of the test. Instead, candidates will be notified of their results on or shortly after December 16, 2011. This delay is to give FINRA a chance to review the effectiveness of the exam, which will include analyzing candidates’ performance during this initial period. Those who fail the exam during this initial 60 days will be allowed to re-take the exam at no additional charge.

Find more details about the Series 99 exam from FINRA by clicking here.

Exam Alert: The Series 99 Outline is Up!

FINRA recently posted the outline for the new Series 99 Operations Professionals Exam. The Madoff-inspired test is meant to ensure that Continue reading

FINRA recently posted the outline for the new Series 99 Operations Professionals Exam. The Madoff-inspired test is meant to ensure that operations professionals understand the fundamentals of the operations and regulations of a broker-dealer’s business. Click here to see the official outline.

What will be tested on the exam?

This exam will be three hours and consist of 110 questions (10 unscored) focusing on the following three topics:

Basic knowledge associated with the securities industry – basic questions about SROs, types of markets, types and characteristics of securities, broker-dealers versus investment advisers, suitability, and types of broker-dealers

Basic knowledge associated with broker-dealer operations – basic questions about types of accounts, maintenance of accounts, custody, anti-money laundering, margin, short sales, settlement, tax-reporting, and record-keeping

Professional conduct and ethical considerations – questions on FINRA conduct rules involving privacy, complaints, information barriers, written supervisory procedures, and registration

The test will be more heavily weighted toward the second category with 48 questions on broker-dealer operations. Securities industry knowledge is the second most important topic with 32 questions and the remaining 20 questions will be comprised of conduct and ethics. FINRA has yet to release the score that will be required to pass.

How difficult is the exam?

The exam outline contains 30 practice questions that represent the level of difficulty of the exam questions. Based on these sample questions the exam appears to be comparable to the Series 6 exam.

Who will have to take the exam?

Day One Professionals – Individuals who currently work as operations supervisors or operations managers or individuals who currently have the authority to materially commit capital in various back office functions. These individuals must be identified by December 16, 2011 and must register within 60 days of being identified. Those registered individuals will then have until October 17, 2012 to pass the Series 99 or a comparable exam such as the Series 6 or Series 7.

Non-Day One Professionals – Individuals who are not currently working in back-office activities, but plan to in the future. These individuals must pass the Series 99 or a comparable exam before engaging in back-office activities. They are not subject to the 12-month transition period.

Individuals who hold the following Series Exams will be exempt from taking the Operations Professionals Exam: Series 4, 6, 7, 9/10, 14, 16, 17, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 37, 38, 51, and 52.

FINRA Alert: New rules for social media and personal device use for business purposes

Since FINRA first released rules regarding these issues back in 2010, many in the finance industry have raised questions and concerns over their abilities Continue reading

Since FINRA first released rules regarding these issues back in 2010, many in the finance industry have raised questions and concerns over their abilities to comply with these rules while keeping up with explosion of social media. Last week, FINRA responded to these concerns by releasing several guidelines clarifying rules surrounding use of social media websites and personal devices for business purposes. For example, some of the guidelines included the following:

If an individual posts a statement on Twitter on behalf of the firm, that will likely constitute an interactive statement and not require prior approval by a firm’s registered principal. However, if that statement is then posted on a blog, becoming a static statement (and therefore an advertisement), prior approval is necessary.
Whether a statement is interactive or static, recordkeeping rules still apply. This means that individuals and/or firms may not use social media sites or devices that automatically delete any posts.
Individuals may respond to third-party business-related posts on their personal social media site without violating FINRA guidelines. However, responses must conform to firms’ individual policies regarding these types of posts.
As long as firms are able to keep records and supervise activity, individuals may use their own personal devices (e.g. a smart phone or a tablet) to conduct business and access business applications. Something to keep in mind when using a personal device to conduct business: firms are allowed to supervise all communications made on personal devices, including personal communications, if the device is ever used for business purposes.

These are just a sampling of issues the recent FINRA Regulatory Notice addressed. Please click here to review the full notice.

Exam Alert: FINRA expands trading pause rule to all NMS stocks

Effective August 8, 2011, FINRA has expanded its trading pause rule to encompass all NMS stocks. The new rule states that trading Continue reading

Effective August 8, 2011, FINRA has expanded its trading pause rule to encompass all NMS stocks. The new rule states that trading in an NMS stock will be paused if the price of the security shifts, in a five-minute period, by:

– 10% for securities included in the S&P 500® Index, the Russell 1000® Index and a list of selected exchange-traded products (ETPs)

– 30% for other securities priced at $1.00 or more

– 50% for other securities priced at less than $1.00.

Prior to August 8, the trading pause rule only applied to securities included in the first category (the S&P 500® Index, the Russell 1000® Index and selected ETPs).

Relevant to the Series 24, Series 7, Series 62, and Series 55 exams.

Source: FINRA Notice 11-37

Exam Alert: FINRA Charges New Fees for Canceling or Rescheduling Exams

FINRA has changed its rules regarding fees for canceling and rescheduling exams. Beginning September 1, 2011, if you cancel or reschedule an exam within Continue reading

FINRA has changed its rules regarding fees for canceling and rescheduling exams. Beginning September 1, 2011, if you cancel or reschedule an exam within 3-10 business days of the scheduled date, you will be charged one-half of the exam fee being canceled or rescheduled. If you cancel or reschedule within two days prior to the exam date, you will be charged the full exam fee.

You can check out the full notice from FINRA by clicking here.

Exam Alert: The New Series 99 Exam for Operations Professionals

The SEC recently adopted FINRA’s proposal to create a new Operations Professional Exam to be called the Series 99 exam. This exam will affect people Continue reading

The SEC recently adopted FINRA’s proposal to create a new Operations Professional Exam to be called the Series 99 exam. This exam will affect people involved in back office functions such as recordkeeping, trade confirmation and transaction settlement. Importantly, it will not be required for those who are already licensed under the Series 6 or 7 exams. This new rule goes into effect on October 17, 2011.

Exam Alert: FINRA modifies and delays implementation of maintenance margin requirements for non-margin eligible equity securities

The changes previously mentioned in this exam alert have been pushed back from July 1, 2011, to October 3, 2011. In addition, a provision regarding Continue reading

The changes previously mentioned in this exam alert have been pushed back from July 1, 2011, to October 3, 2011. In addition, a provision regarding the day-trading of non-margin eligible equity securities has been modified. Instead of requiring that firms cancel certain customer trades, firms will need to restrict the day-trading activity of customers who fail to meet a day-trade call.

Source: FINRA Regulatory Notice 11-30

Exam Alert: FINRA announces new submission process for Form T

Effective July 5, 2011 FINRA member firms must submit Form T electronically through FINRA’s Firm Gateway rather than email. Form T is a form FINRA requires Continue reading

Effective July 5, 2011 FINRA member firms must submit Form T electronically through FINRA’s Firm Gateway rather than email. Form T is a form FINRA requires member firms submit to report last sale reports, typically after hours trades, of OTC transactions in equity securities. Relevant to the Series 62, Series 55, Series 24, and Series 7 exams.

Source: FINRA Trade Reporting Notice – 6/3/2011

Exam Alert: SEC approves FINRA financial responsibility and operational rules

The SEC has approved new consolidated FINRA rules governing financial responsibility and operational requirements of members. The rules take effect Continue reading

The SEC has approved new consolidated FINRA rules governing financial responsibility and operational requirements of members. The rules take effect August 1, 2011, and are based in part on existing NYSE and NASD rules, though there are new provisions as well. The new rules address guarantees, flow through benefits, carrying agreements, security counts, assignment of responsibility for general ledger accounts, and identification of suspense accounts. Relevant to the Series 7 and to the Series 24 exams. Details may be found here.

Source: FINRA Regulatory Notice 11-26

Exam Alert: FINRA pushes back implementation date for higher customer care standards

FINRA has changed the date on which its new know-your-customer and suitability rules will take effect. The new effective date is Continue reading

FINRA has changed the date on which its new know-your-customer and suitability rules (previously mentioned in this exam alert) will take effect. The new effective date is July 9, 2012. FINRA has also answered questions from firms about the new rules; the questions and answers may be found here.

http://www.finra.org/Industry/Regulation/Notices/2011/P123702