Regulation Best Interest

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On December 23, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a no-action letter regarding family offices and Regulation Best Interest.

Specifically, the SEC staff indicated that the SEC would not treat Institutional Family Offices as “retail customers” for broker dealers for purposes of Regulation Best Interest and broker dealers’ Form CRS. An Institutional Family Office…

On September 28, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it will hold a roundtable on October 26 at which staff from the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) will discuss initial observations on the implementation of Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS.
Continue Reading SEC Staff to Host Roundtable on Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS on October 26

On June 19, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a regulatory notice that it had amended its Capital Acquisition Broker (CAB) suitability rule and rules governing non-cash compensation to align with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) with respect to the requisite standards of conduct.
Continue Reading SEC Approves Changes to FINRA’s Suitability and Non-Cash Compensation Rules

On June 15, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton made a public statement (Statement) covering several topics related to Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) and Form CRS. Chairman Clayton confirmed that the compliance date for Reg BI and Form CRS will be June 30, 2020 and emphasized the SEC’s focus on issues related to Main Street investors, including the creation of a new investor-focused resource to assist such investors with reviewing the Form CRS and researching firms and financial professionals.
Continue Reading SEC Chairman Clayton Provides Public Statement Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS

On June 10, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued Regulatory Notice 20-17, which addresses changes to the Problem Codes that FINRA members are required to use for self-reporting customer complaints. These changes are designed in part to account for the new Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS requirements that take effect on June 30.
Continue Reading FINRA Revises Problem Codes for Reporting Customer Complaints and for Filing Documents Online

On May 15, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a regulatory notice (the Notice) reminding firms of their obligations in connection with oil-linked exchange-traded products (ETPs). In light of the practical difficulties involved in investing directly in commodities such as oil, commodity-linked ETPs, which often track commodity futures or futures indices rather than the underlying spot commodity, can provide investors with exposure to such commodities. Due to their complexity, ETPs may not be well understood by investors, as the products may be linked to unfamiliar indices or reference benchmarks. As the crude oil market has recently endured extraordinary conditions, several oil-linked ETPs have experienced significant volatility and lost a substantial percentage of their value.
Continue Reading FINRA Issues Regulatory Notice Regarding Sales Practice Obligations With Respect to Oil-Linked Exchange-Traded Products