What Does “Tender” Mean on Securities Exams?

For a number of securities exams, you should understand the term “tender.” Solomon explains what the term means and how it’s used in the securities industry. Continue reading

When studying for a securities exam such as the FINRA Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam and the Series 7, Series 14, Series 24, Series 79, or the MSRB Series 50, Series 52, Series 53, or Series 54, it’s likely you will encounter the word “tender.” This bit of terminology may be confusing at first. But learning the ways “tender” is commonly used in the securities industry will prevent you from getting tripped up when you see it on an exam.

You may have heard this word in connection with stock buybacks. When a company offers to buy its shares back from stockholders, the company is said to be conducting a tender offer. The stockholders who take the company up on the offer are said to be tendering their shares. A company may also make a tender offer to a different company’s shareholders, for example if it wants to acquire the other company. 
  
The word “tender” comes from the field of law. To tender is to make a binding offer to enter into an agreement. (It also has a second meaning of presenting payment, which is why your dollar bill has the phrase “legal tender” on it.) So when you tender a security you own, you are offering to sell it on terms that have been spelled out between you and the other party. In the case of a tender offer, the company must specify these terms when it makes the offer and shareholders must take them or leave them. In many cases, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that these terms include a window of time during which shareholders who tendered their shares may change their minds. In that case, the “binding offer” is not binding right away. 
  
Another securities-related use of “tender” is when a security gives its owner the right to sell it back to the issuer. Exercising this right is sometimes called tendering the security. For example, a municipal bond might have a tender option that gives the bondholder the right to sell it back to the municipality at a certain time for a certain price. Additionally, some variable-rate municipal securities come with a mandatory tender that is triggered when the rate is adjusted. When this happens, the bondholder must choose between tendering the bond or accepting the new rate. 
  
So if you see the word “tender” on a securities exam, it means that the owner of a security is offering to sell it under specific terms and conditions, and the owner’s ability to back out of the offer may be limited.

Want a curated collection of our most relevant blog posts delivered straight to your email inbox each month? Subscribe to the Solomon Monthly Newsletter and get securities exam study tips, industry news, and more! Just click the button below to join.

Understanding Trading Halts

The market’s intense reaction to the coronavirus has caused something not seen since 1997: trading halts. Continue reading

Understanding Trading Halts

The market’s intense reaction to the coronavirus has caused something not seen since 1997: trading halts. If you’re studying for the FINRA Series 7 General Securities Representative exam or the FINRA Series 24 General Securities Principal exam, FINRA may test you on the subject. Rest assured, Solomon Exam Prep’s Series 7 and Series 24 study materials cover the topic in detail. Here’s a little background on trading halts.
 
Sometimes called “circuit breakers,” these trading halts were first put in place after the 1987 stock market crash known as Black Monday. Part of the reason the Black Monday crash was so bad was the panic selling that happened once the market started dropping. A trading halt is meant to prevent this panicked free fall.
 
A trading halt may apply to the entire market, or a single security.
 

Market-Wide Trading Halts

A market-wide trading halt will be triggered when the S&P 500 drops sharply from where it was the day before. A Level 1 halt is triggered by a 7% drop and lasts for 15 minutes. If the drop reaches 13%, it triggers a Level 2 halt. A level 2 halt also lasts 15 minutes. Finally, a 20% drop in the S&P 500 triggers a Level 3 halt, which stops trading for the rest of the day. These kind of halts stop securities and options trading on all the exchanges, as well as the OTC markets.  
 
Trading Pauses in a Single Security
 
When a company makes a major announcement, it’s stock price may move dramatically. Pausing trading of a particular stock or security protects smaller investors who generally cannot react as quickly to the news as larger investors. If the price of a security drops a certain amount below what it normally trades at, the security is said to be “limit down.” If it stays limit down for 15 seconds, then trading in that security is paused for 5 minutes. Unlike market-wide trading halts, the same goes if the price of a single security rises rapidly. If a security is “limit up” for 15 seconds, trading pauses for 5 minutes. How much a security has to move to be limit up or limit down depends on the type of stock and its normal price range.
 
Your Securities Exams
 
Trading halts are topics on the FINRA Series 7 and Series 24 exams. Solomon Exam Prep covers trading halts in Solomon study guides, audio guides, video lectures, exam simulators and digital flashcards. For more information, go to www.SolomonExamPrep.Com or call 503.601.0212.
 

Exam Alert: IRS requires broker-dealers and mutual funds to report cost basis of stocks

Effective January 1, 2011, the IRS requires that when broker-dealers and mutual funds purchase stocks, the cost basis of the stocks must be reported to Continue reading

Effective January 1, 2011, the IRS requires that when broker-dealers and mutual funds purchase stocks, the cost basis of the stocks must be reported to the IRS and to investors.  In 2011, this reporting requirement only applies to most stocks, while in 2012 and beyond, the requirement will apply to all stocks.  In 2011, the rule will not apply to mutual fund shares and shares purchased via dividend reinvestment plans. Relevant to the Series 6, Series 7, Series 62, Series 65, and Series 66 exams.

IRS news release: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=228907,00.html

Analysis by the Securities Technology Monitor: http://www.securitiestechnologymonitor.com/photo_gallery/1_36/27400-1.html