Chapter 4 Flashcards
New member firms should have at least what as officers?
- at least two registered principals and one financial/operations principal unless exemption is granted.
FINRA Executive Representative
- each membership required to have one, who will represent, vote, and act for member in all affairs related to FINRA. Required to be a registered principal, and must have an e-mail account
If a broker-dealer has applied for registration and has to amend its registration because of inaccurate info, who does that have to be filed with?
Promptly with the CRD
Application for approval of change in ownership, control, or business operations of a broker dealer is required for:
- merger of member with another member
- direct or indirect acquisition by member of another member
- direct or indirect acquisition or transfer of 25% or more of assets that generates revenues of 25% of more of members earnings in a 36 month basis.
- change in equity ownership or partnership capital of member results in an individual owning or controlling 25% or more of equity or partnership capital
- material change in business operations
A member shall file application for approval of change in ownership or control when?
- at least 30 days prior to such change.
Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction refers to office of a member where any of what functions take place:
- order execution / market making
- structuring of public offerings or private placements
- maintaining custody of customer funds/securities
- approval of (NOT OPENING) new accounts on behalf of member
- review / endorsement of orders
- final approval of retail communications (advertising/sales literature)
- responsibility for supervising activities of persons associated with member
Exemptions from OSJ Definition
- locations that SOLELY conduct final approvals of research reports
- each OSJ must have one or more registered principals, each non-OSJ must have a ‘person-in-charge’
- registered principal supervise multiple OSJ’s, principal must have physical presence on a regular and routine basis
- supervisor is registered principal physically located at OSJ branch office
- person in charge is a registered person (RR or Principal), located at, manages activities, individuals working at Non-OSJ branch office.
supervisor- principal
person in charge- principal or registered rep
Branch Office Definition
- any location where one or more associated persons of a member regularly conducts any transactions or inducing or attempting to induce the purchase or sale of a security or a location that is held out as such.
example:
- branch manager hires new senior RRs and has to rent new office space for new RRs, new office space must be identified as a branch office
- location responsible for supervising activities of persons associates w member at one or more non-branch locations
Exclusions to ‘Branch Office’ Definition
- location established solely for customer service/back office, no sales activities
- location associated w a persons primary residence.
- any location, other than a primary residence, that is used for securities business for less than 30 business days (30 day calendar day window to register as a branch if location exceeds 30 business day exemption)
- any office of convenience (lets go out for a cup of coffee and discuss your portfolio)
- any location used primarily to engage in non-securities activities which associated person effects no more than 25 securities transactions in any calendar year.
- floor of registered national securities exchange
- temporary location in response to business continuity plan
FINRA Supervisory Regulations for Branch Office Inspections
- must establish mandatory inspection cycles, firms written supervisory procedures (WSP) must be tested and verified independently
- CEO certify annually that senior exec management has processes to review compliance policies
- OSJs and branches supervising non-branch locations inspected ANNUALLY
- non-OSJs inspected once every 3 years
- non-branch inspected regular, periodic schedule based on complexity
- inspection conducted by someone independent of branch
- WSPs set forth for all inspections
- inspection reports retained for 3 years.
- keep copy of FINRA manual in each branch in readily accessible place, made available to customers upon request
Member firm must have written supervisory procedures to prohibit its supervisory personnel from:
- supervising their own activities
- reporting to or having their compensation or continued employment determined by person that supervisor is supervising
Specific review and monitoring of the following activities relating to customer protection is required:
- all transmittal funds and / or securities:
1) that results in change of beneficial ownership
2) from customer accts to outside entities
3) from customer accounts to location other than customers primary residence
4) between customers and RRs including hand deliveries
b. customer changes of addresses and validation of changes
c. customer changes of investment objections and validation
FINRA rules state each member must have procedures to capture, acknowledge, respond to all written customer complaints and action taken by member. complaints against a BD may be registered by all of the following:
- SEC
- FINRA
- PUBLIC CUSTOMERS
- OTHER MEMBER FIRMS
- Emailed complaints are subject to all rules. does not require capture of oral complaints
If a member firm knows of the existence of any written complaint involving theft, misappropriation of funds or securities, or of forgery when?
- not later than 30 calendar days after the member knows of existence of complaint
Summary complaint filing
- must file with FINRA summary of info regarding customer complaints by 15th day of the month following calendar quarter complaints are received.
- should take place on FINRA firm gateway
- Actual copies of complaints are NOT filed with FINRA. Oral complaints not included since they are difficult to capture and assess.
Customer complaints must be preserved for how long in an OSJ?
At least 4 years, formally 3.
Relevant Factors which justify a higher percentage mark-up:
- type of security being traded (mark up on stocks higher than bonds)
- availability of security in market
- price of securities
- amount of money involved
- disclosure
- patterns of mark ups
- nature of members business
excessive expenses of broker dealer or market volatility are NOT justification for higher mark up
Transactions to which the mark-up policy applies:
- transaction to buy a security to fill an order for the same security received from a customer. ‘riskless’ and ‘simultaneous’ transaction
- transaction where member sells security to customer from own inventory
- transaction where member purchases a security from customer, puts it in its own inventory
- transaction where the member acts as agent bringing buyer and seller together and charges commission, must be fair and reasonable.
- govt. securities transactions
Transactions to which mark up policy does NOT apply to:
- securities listed and traded on floor of stock exchange
- securities where prospectus or offering circular must be delivered, securities sold at specific public offering price.
- reg A offerings
Net Transaction Trade
- handled the same way a riskless principal transaction is handled, except in a net transaction, the initial and offsetting transactions are executed at different prices
- mark up is NOT disclosed on a net transaction (it is disclosed on a riskless principal transaction)
Spoofing
- trader enters a visible order, which creates a new best bid or offer and during the time that the first order is entered, the first order is cancelled.
- the same trader executes a trade on the opposite side of the market after. form of market manipulation
- trader ends up with an execution at a price better than before.
Layering
- Trader enters multiple visible orders on one side of the market at multiple price levels. this causes the mid point of the spread between bid and ask to move away from those multiple orders
- then, the same trader executes a trade on the opposite side of the market.
- manipulative because the execution takes place at a better price than the trader would have received if they didnt do this.
Written Supervisory Procedures (WSP)
- Each member must establish, maintain, enforce WSPs
- enables member to properly supervise activities of each principal, RR, associates person
- when broker dealer updates supervisory policies and practices manuals, it must keep copies of old manuals for 3 years.