permanent exam

New MSRB Rule G-42: Duties of Non-Solicitor Municipal Advisors

MSRB Rule G-42, Duties of Non-Solicitor Municipal Advisors, will be effective June 23, 2016, and was recently added to the outline for the Series 50 exam. Continue reading

G-42 MSRB Rule G-42, Duties of Non-Solicitor Municipal Advisors, will be effective June 23, 2016, and was recently added to the outline for the Series 50 exam.

The rule requires that municipal advisors meet certain standards of conduct in their dealings with municipal entities, which includes fulfilling two duties: a duty of care and a duty of loyalty. Though G-42 goes into great detail about municipal advisor responsibilities, the duties of care and loyalty are the basis for everything included in the rule.

In order to fulfill its duty of care, the municipal advisor must:

• Have enough knowledge and expertise to give informed advice to the municipal entity

• Reasonably inquire into all relevant facts before allowing a municipality to proceed on a particular course of action or before giving advice

• Undertake a reasonable investigation to determine that its advice is not based on materially inaccurate or incomplete information

In order to fulfill its duty of loyalty, a municipal advisor must:

• Be honest and act in good faith

• Put the municipal client’s interests before its own financial or other interests

• Not perform municipal advisory activities for the client if its conflicts of interests will prevent it from acting in the client’s best interests

The rule requires municipal advisors to put their municipal advisory relationships in writing “prior to, upon or promptly after” the relationship begins, and requires them to disclose all conflicts of interest in writing to the municipal client.

Finally, Rule G-42 provides a list of specifically prohibited activities and explains how a firm must respond if it inadvertently provides advice to a municipal entity.

The rule was written to conform to the fiduciary duty placed on municipal advisors by the Dodd-Frank Act.

Solomon Exam Prep has helped thousands pass the Series 6, 7, 63, 65, 66, 24, 26, 27, 50, 51, 52, 53, 62, 79, 82 and 99 exams. For more information visit http://www.solomonexamprep.com/

Series 50 Permanent Exam Outline Released

The MSRB recently announced that the Series 50 permanent exam will be available starting on September 12, 2016. The Series 50 pilot exam, which was a precursor to the permanent exam, was available from January 15, 2016, to February 15, 2016, and helped to set the permanent exam passing score of 71%. Continue reading

prod_bkSEP50

In preparation for the release of the permanent exam, the MSRB updated the Series 50 outline to reflect current rules. Specifically, the following references were added to Function One of the outline:

Rules governing activities of municipal advisors (for example, professional qualification, fiduciary duty, and recordkeeping)
Rule G-20 (“Limitations on Gift Giving”), as it applies to municipal advisors
Rule G-37 (“Pay to Play” Rule), as it applies to municipal advisors
Rule G-42 (“Duties of Non-Solicitor Municipal Advisors”)

The MSRB also removed the reference to Rule G-32 (“Disclosure in Connection with Primary Offerings”) from Function One, most likely because this is more relevant to brokers, dealers, and municipal securities dealers than it is to municipal advisors.

Additionally, Function Two of the outline now refers to “rating agencies” instead of the “major three rating agencies.”

Finally, the MSRB added three new sample questions at the end of the outline to replace sample questions 2, 3, and 4.

Solomon Exam Prep has helped thousands pass the Series 6, 7, 63, 65, 66, 24, 26, 27, 50, 51, 52, 53, 62, 79, 82 and 99 exams. For more information visit SolomonExamPrep.Com or call 503.601.0212.

MSRB Series 50 Pilot Exam Becomes Permanent

Today, the MSRB announced that the permanent Municipal Representative Qualification Exam (Series 50) will be made available on September 12, 2016. On that day, a municipal advisor will be able to open a 120-day examination window for a municipal advisor representative. Continue reading

Today, the MSRB announced that they will make the permanent Municipal Representative Qualification Exam (Series 50) available on September 12, 2016. On that day, a municipal advisor will be able to open a 120-day examination window for a municipal advisor representative.

Also, anyone who took the Series 50 pilot exam was notified today whether or not they passed. Individuals who took the Series 50 pilot but did not pass will have an extended exam window of one year (September 12, 2016 – September 12, 2017) to retake the exam one time for free.

Other relevant Series 50 exam information:

The permanent Series 50 exam will have 100 questions.
The passing score of the permanent Series 50 exam will be 71%.
Students taking the permanent Series 50 will have 3 hours to take the exam.
The fee to take the Series 50 exam will be $265.
If you took and passed the Series 50 pilot exam and you stop working for a municipal advisor, your Series 50 qualification will remain valid for two years.
The MSRB is providing a one-year grace period during which individuals will be able to take the municipal advisor representative exam while still engaging in municipal advisory activities. That means that municipal advisor representatives are not required to have the Series 50 qualification until September 12, 2017.
Municipal advisor representatives may indicate that they passed the Series 50 exam but suggesting that passing the Series 50 makes you more qualified than someone who hasn’t could be misleading and might get you in trouble with the MSRB or the SEC.
The Series 50 content outline is being updated and will be made available on the MSRB web site by July 1, 2016.

Solomon Exam Prep is updating its Series 50 materials based on customer feedback and based on regulatory and MSRB exam outline changes. Solomon Series 50 pilot students who did not pass the Series 50 pilot exam, will receive another 180-days of access to their Solomon Series 50 study materials. Please contact us either by phone at 503.601.0212 or via email (info@solomonexamprep.com) to have your account reset.