Guidance
We offer guidance to firms in the form of podcasts, webinars, FAQs, reports, and more. Use the toggle below to find guidance by topic, type or date.
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Podcast
When Bari Havlik joined FINRA as Executive Vice President of the newly named Member Supervision team, she did so with big plans for the examination and risk monitoring programs. In this episode, Bari shares her vision for the future and how her background in compliance has shaped her views.
November 06, 2018
Podcast
In an era when much of our lives happen online, cybersecurity is more important than ever. But what do you do to protect your personal information? We all have a role to play in keeping ourselves secure. This National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, tune in to learn more about how you can keep yourself, your family and your clients safe online.
October 23, 2018
A Few Minutes With FINRA
Chip Jones, FINRA’s Senior Vice President of Member Relations and Education, talks with Bari Havlik, FINRA’s Executive Vice President of Member Supervision, about the recent decision to consolidate FINRA’s examination and risk monitoring programs. The discussion includes an overview of how FINRA plans to integrate three separate programs into a single, unified program to drive more effective oversight, reduce duplication and create a single point of accountability for the examination of firms. (6 min. 42 sec.)
October 10, 2018
Podcast
Millennials are on the cusp of surpassing Baby Boomers as the largest adult generation in America, yet they remain substantially under-invested. The FINRA Foundation and CFA Institute teamed up to investigate why. Today, Gerri Walsh and Gary Mottola join us to discuss their recent report, "Uncertain Futures: Seven Myths about Millennials and Investing," and uncover the misconceptions and roadblocks millennials face in their path to becoming investors.
October 09, 2018
About FINRA
Watch the video report featuring highlights from the September 2018 Board of Governors meeting and read FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook’s email to firms.
October 05, 2018
Exemptive Letter
Application for Exemptive Relief from Trade Reporting Obligation for Certain Transactions on an Alternative Trading System
October 01, 2018
Get Involved
The FINRA Board of Governors meets this week in New York. Read President and CEO Robert Cook’s email to firms previewing the agenda.
September 25, 2018
Podcast
Looking to break into the financial services industry? It is about to get easier. On October 1, 2018, FINRA will launch the Securities Industry Essential (SIE) exam, a new exam that will test concepts fundamental to the securities industry. And you don’t have to be associated with a financial firm to take it!
September 25, 2018
Guidance
New member firms must file certain retail communications prior to first use with FINRA’s Advertising Regulation Department. A retail communication, as defined in FINRA Rule 2210, means any written (including electronic) communication that is distributed or made available to more than 25 retail investors within any 30 calendar-day period.
September 17, 2018
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) covering reporting of corporate and agencies debt, reporting of mortgage and asset backed securities to the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE)
September 14, 2018
Podcast
In episode 13, we sat down with Tom Gira and learned how his team use machine learning to sift through billions of market events each day to detect misconduct. But FINRA isn’t just keeping that data for itself, it is sharing it with financial firms to strengthen regulatory compliance across the industry. Today, Gira joins us once again to share how his team is using the data to foster fairer markets.
September 11, 2018
Guidance
Technology Based Innovations for Regulatory Compliance in the Securities Industry outlines recent regulatory technology (RegTech) developments within the securities industry and potential opportunities and implications these technologies may have for broker-dealers.
September 10, 2018
Podcast
An economist and a lawyer walk into a room. This isn’t the start of a bad joke, it’s an integral part of FINRA’s rule making process. At FINRA, economists and lawyers work closely together to ensure that FINRA’s rules are as effective and as tailored as possible. In this episode, Phil Shaikun from FINRA’s Office of General Counsel, and Jonathan Sokobin, FINRA’s Chief Economist, explain how the process works.
August 28, 2018
Podcast
How are financial regulators keeping up with the newest fintech developments and predicting their impact on the financial industry? Last year, FINRA launched the Innovation Outreach Initiative to address this very issues. In this episode, Haime Workie and Kavita Jain talk about the initiative itself and share their insights on the fintech innovations that are driving market activity around the world.
August 14, 2018
Report / Study
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) regulates a critical part of the securities industry—member brokerage firms doing business in the U.S. In an effort to increase public awareness and understanding about the broad range of FINRA-registered firms and individuals, FINRA for the first time is sharing an annual snapshot of some of the data collected in the course of its work.
August 09, 2018
Compliance Tools
FINRA has created this page to provide information for the small firm community—those firms with 150 or fewer registered representatives. This page contains current and past communications, links of interest to small firms, and other information.
August 01, 2018
Podcast
What are the principles that guide FINRA’s decision making when it comes to taking Enforcement action? That’s the question that’s been on the mind of FINRA’s head of Enforcement, Susan Schroeder, since she took on the role in mid-2017. In this episode, Susan rejoins us to discuss how getting back to basics is helping her build a more effective Enforcement team.
July 31, 2018
Compliance Tools
A resource where small broker-dealer firms can get help navigating FINRA’s systems and resources.
Call (833) 26-FINRA (833-263-4672)Monday – Friday
8 a.m. – 6 p.m. Eastern Time
As part of our ongoing efforts to provide support for small firms, and in response to the FINRA Special Notice on Engagement and FINRA360, FINRA developed the Small Firm Helpline to assist broker-dealers that need general help navigating FINRA’s systems and resources.
July 30, 2018
Podcast
FINRA now has more than 30 petabytes of data in the cloud—to put that into the context of MP3 music files that would be about 60 million years of easy listening. In this episode, FINRA’s Chief Information Officer Steve Randich joins us to discuss how the use of the cloud has fundamentally changed FINRA’s technology strategy.
July 30, 2018
Podcast
In episode 12 we sat down with Steve Randich and learned how the cloud provides FINRA with the storage space and computing power to process up to 101 billion market events in a single day. Today, we sit down with FINRA’s head of Market Regulation and Transparency Services, Tom Gira, to hear how the cloud and machine learning enable his team to more efficiently and effectively sift through this massive amount of data to detect misconduct.
July 16, 2018
Podcast
What is FINRA’s Dispute Resolution forum? How might I end up with a case in arbitration or mediation? What does the process look like? FINRA’s Head of Dispute Resolution, Rick Berry, answers these questions and more in this episode of FINRA Unscripted.
June 19, 2018
Podcast
FINRA can’t predict the future, but like a weatherman, it can make predictions based on circumstances that exist today. FINRA’s Office of Emerging Regulatory Issues (ERI) looks to predict what storms may be brewing in the securities market and what areas they are likely to impact.
June 05, 2018
Guidance
In the near-future, FINRA is introducing a new TRACE Markup/Markdown Analysis Report on the Report Center. The report displays a firm's markup and markdown behavior compared to the industry and provides the underlying details used to calculate the markup or markdown.
May 23, 2018
Media Center
Consistency and foreseeability: that’s what any regulator strives for. But when FINRA CEO Robert Cook asked around, he heard that wasn’t always the case—particularly when it came to two different enforcement teams. That’s why FINRA’s Susan Schroeder has taken on the task of bring together these two teams into One Enforcement. Here’s how she’s doing it.
May 21, 2018
Board of Governors Meeting
FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook, Chairman Bill Heyman, Board members and FINRA staff provide updates on the May 2018 FINRA Board of Governors meeting.
May 17, 2018