Interpretive Letter to Tamara K. Salmon, Investment Company Institute

Application of the filing requirements of NASD Rules 2210(c)(2) and (c)(4) to business cards and letterhead.

September 6, 2007

Ms. Tamara K. Salmon
Senior Associate Counsel
Investment Company Institute
1401 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005-2148

Re: Business Cards and Letterhead

Dear Ms. Salmon:

This letter responds to your letter dated August 16, 2007 on behalf of the Investment Company Institute, which seeks interpretive guidance regarding the treatment of business cards and letterhead under FINRA's rules for filing communications with the public. Your letter requests our concurrence that business cards and letterhead are not required to be filed with the Advertising Regulation Department ("the Department") pursuant to NASD Rule 2210 if their content is limited to only one or more of the following: the member firm or associated person's contact information; the firm's logo; a list of the firm's affiliated companies; or a list of the firm's products or services. As the basis for your request, you cite NASD Rule 2210(c)(9), which excludes from the filing requirements material that refers to investment company securities, direct participation programs or exempted securities solely as part of a listing of products or services offered by the firm.

The various filing requirements under NASD Rule 2210 apply to certain advertisements and sales literature as those terms are defined under the rule. While business cards and letterhead, depending on their content and use, could be considered sales literature, FINRA staff believes that business cards and letterhead that are limited to the content described above fall within the exclusion set forth in NASD Rule 2210(c)(9) and therefore need not be filed with the Department pursuant to NASD Rule 2210(c)(2) and (c)(4).

I hope that this letter is responsive to your inquiry. Please note that the opinions expressed herein are staff opinions only and have not been reviewed or endorsed by the FINRA Board of Governors. This letter responds only to the issues you have raised based on the facts described in your letter, and does not address any other rule or interpretation or all the possible regulatory and legal issues involved.

Sincerely,

Thomas A. Pappas
Vice President and Director
Advertising Regulation

cc: Philip A. Shaikun
Office of General Counsel