Amendments to Rules Governing Member Communications With the Public

NASD Regulation, Inc., has filed with the SEC a proposed rule change to amend Rule 2210 and Interpretive Materials thereunder, promulgate new Rule 2211, and renumber existing Rule 2211, of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. The proposed rule change would modernize and clarify the rules governing member communications with the public. Among other provisions, the proposed rule change would exclude all communications to institutional investors from member pre-use approval and NASD Regulation filing requirements. Form letters and group e-mail to existing customers and fewer than 25 prospective retail customers also would be eligible for these exclusions. Additionally, the proposed rule change would exclude independently prepared reprints from the filing and most content standards and would exclude certain press releases from the filing requirements. The proposed rule change also would simplify the content standards applicable to member communications.