Guidance
We offer guidance to firms in the form of podcasts, webinars, FAQs, reports, and more. Use the toggle below to find guidance by topic, type or date.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
I
M
O
P
R
S
T
Short sales by options professionals established during the course of bona fide market making activities are exempt from the affirmative determination requirements, regardless of whether the short sales constitute a permitted offset under Regulation T.
Requirements under NASD Rule 3030 (formerly Article III, Section 43) for investment seminar activities conducted by dually registered persons that charge fees from participants.
Clarification of NASD Notice to Members
94-44 to situations in which a dually registered person maintains discretionary trading authority, determines portfolio changes, and prepares trade instructions for customer accounts and charges the accounts an asset-based fee.
Whether a proposed standby purchase agreement entered into between affiliate of a member and an issuer in connection with a public offering of the issuer's common stock could constitute an option.
Cash rebates issued to pension plan customers with respect to secondary market transactions in outstanding securities (under former Article III, Section 24, now Rule 2740 and IM-2740).
The Report Center provides firms with secure access to data and reports that help firms detect potential compliance problems early. FINRA Report Center provides report cards that cover a variety of topics and rulesets.
Reports on the Report Center do not relieve a firm from compliance obligations imposed under FINRA’s By-Laws and Rules, and will not limit or prevent FINRA from taking appropriate regulatory or disciplinary action against a firm or associated person for failure to comply with such rules.
Background
In response to the March 2017 Special Notice on Engagement issued as part of FINRA360, FINRA received a number of comments and suggestions regarding the effectiveness of communications with and education of firms, including ways in which FINRA could enhance its engagement with member firms. After careful review of the comments and suggestions received, FINRA is taking a number of actions.
FINRA has initiated a multi-phased effort to overhaul its registration and disclosure programs, including the Central Registration Depository (CRD) -- the central licensing and registration system that FINRA operates for the U.S. securities industry and its regulators, and that provides the backbone of BrokerCheck. In June 2018, we implemented the first phase of the transformation through a new WebCRD interface that highlights important information or activities requiring the immediate attention of firms, branches and individuals.
The Best Execution Outside-of-the-Inside (BE) report card is a monthly status report detailing the number of transactions reported to a FINRA Facility (i.e., a FINRA Trade Reporting Facility or FINRA's Alternative Display Facility) in which your firm participated that were executed Outside-of-the-Inside market in apparent violation of the Best Execution Rule. If non-compliance with the Best Execution Rule is found to exist, your firm may be found to be in violation of FINRA Rule 5310.
The Frequently Asked Questions below are taken directly from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS FAQ pages. The below are FINRA’s best attempt to highlight the latest SEC FAQs, but additional FAQs may have been published that are not posted on this page. For the latest FAQs on Reg BI and Form CRS, please visit the SEC’s website.