FINRA RULES

FINRA Rule 3280

An associated person may not participate in any private securities transactions w/out: 1. Providing detailed notice of the proposed transaction, the role the person is to play, and whether or not compensation will be paid. 2. Receiving written approval from his or her firm to participate. If the rep is not receiving any form of compensation (incl. non-cash) for the private securities transaction, only notice, not permission, is required. If the firm approves participation in a private securities transaction for compensation, the transaction must be recorded on the firm's books and records and must be supervised as if it were part of the firm's business.

Blue-Sky Laws

Most states require registered representative candidates to take and pass the state securities law examination known as the Series 63 (along with an appropriate qualification exam) in order to sell securities in that particular state

FINRA Rule 2090

Suitability obligations also require firms to "know their customer" by conducting reasonable diligence on customers each time a new account is opened as well as to know, verify, and retain each customer's essential facts

SEC's Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI)

broker-dealers and associated persons must follow a "best interest" standard of conduct when making a recommendation of a certain type to a retail customer

SEC Regulation D (Reg D)

contains the rules for exemptions from registration, allowing some companies to offer and sell their securities without having to register them with the SEC.

Exchange Act Rule 15c3-3

firms are required to protect customer funds and securities by segregating these assets from the firm's own business activities as well as promptly delivering these assets to their owner upon request

FINRA Rule 2111

have a reasonable basis to believe a recommended securities transaction (or investment strategy involving securities) is suitable for the customer. The three main suitability obligations of Rule 2111 are reasonable-basis suitability, customer-specific suitability, and quantitative suitability.

FINRA Rule 3220

member firms and their associated persons are prohibited from giving anything of value in excess of $100 per year to any customer.

FINRA Rule 4530

promptly report certain events to their firms, such as written customer complaints, violations of securities laws, or other events requiring updates to their Form U4s

SEC Regulation A (Reg A)

provides an exemption from registration for public offerings up to $20 million (Tier 1) or $50M (Tier 2) in any 12-month period.

FINRA Rule 3270

registered representatives must disclose any business activities they're involved with that exist outside the scope of their relationship with their member firm, known as outside business activities (OBAs)

FINRA Rule 3310

requires all member firms to have a written compliance program in place to detect and prevent money laundering

FINRA Rule 4370

requires every member firm to have in place a business continuity plan in the event natural or other disasters occur.

SEC Regulation S-P

requires firms to have policies and procedures in place addressing this protection and safeguarding of customer information and records

FINRA Rules 2010 and 1122

there are consequences for member firms and associated persons that file false, misleading, or inaccurate Form U4 or U5 forms or amendments.

Federal Reserve Board Regulation T

two days is the maximum amount of time an investor has to pay for a stock after it has been purchased.

FINRA Rule 2210

used whenever corporations communicate with the public, which can take the form of correspondence, retail communications, or institutional communications or telemarketing