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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. 

5 A B C D E F G H I L M N O P Q R S T V
Compliance Tools

The Municipal Primary Offering Disclosure Report displays statistics about transactions your firm effected with customers during the securities’ Primary Offering Disclosure Period. This report is designed to aid firms in monitoring their compliance with Rule G-32(a) customer disclosure requirements, which apply to all broker-dealers selling offered municipal securities.


FAQ
Prospective FINRA member firms must seek approval for new FINRA membership through the submission of a New Membership Application (NMA or Form NMA) in accordance with FINRA Rule 1013 (New Member Application and Interview). Existing FINRA member firms that are contemplating a material change in ownership, control, or business operations must submit a Continuing Membership Application (CMA or Form CMA) in accordance with FINRA Rule 1017 (Application for Approval of Change in Ownership, Control, or Business Operations). Both types of applications are reviewed by FINRA’s Membership Application Program (MAP) Group.

Compliance Tools
These monthly reports cover trades of Treasuries, Securitized Products, Agency Bonds, and Corporate Debt that a member firm reported to the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (TRACE).

FAQ
OATS Phase III Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ
Understanding Your FINRA Flex-Funding Account

2019 Exam Findings Report

Regulatory Obligations

Regulation SHO Rules 200 to 204 require firms to address risks relating to market manipulation, market liquidity and investor confidence by regulating excessive and “naked” short sales so that purchasers of securities from short sellers receive their securities positions in a timely manner. Regulation SHO requires firms to appropriately mark their securities orders; confirm that they have deliverable securities to complete short sale transactions; and have a process to close-out fails to deliver within the required timeframes.


Compliance Tools

The MSRB Due Diligence Report Card is a monthly status report to help firms monitor their issuances being brought to market in order to support firm's due diligence efforts.  The report shows how many total issuances have been brought to market and which of those had issuers with previous issuances in the market that are lacking current audited financial filings (LCF) on EMMA.  If any of the issuances being brought to market have a previously issued CUSIP LCF, then the current issuance is identified on this report card.

The report offers two alternative views:


FAQ
Frequently asked questions about FINRA BrokerCheck, a free tool for researching brokers, brokerage firms, investment advisers & investment adviser firms.

About FINRA

Background

Examinations are central to FINRA's regulatory operations, and they are one of the principal means by which the organization protects investors and promotes market integrity. FINRA's examinations also aim to provide valuable feedback to firms on areas for improvement and best practices based on insights we have gathered from examining others in the industry.


FAQ
Frequently asked questions about public offerings

FAQ
1. What are some tips for printing PDF Reports? To print reports in Portrait format...

2019 Exam Findings Report

Regulatory Obligations

Exchange Act Rule 15c3-1 (Net Capital Rule) requires firms to maintain net capital at specific levels to protect customers and creditors from monetary losses that can occur when firms fail.


Compliance Tools

The Registered Representative Composition Report is produced on a quarterly basis and displays trends in the profile of registered representatives associated with the firm. The report allows firms to compare their statistics to those of the industry. The data in this report comes from Web CRD®.

This report is generally published approximately 5 weeks after the last business day of the quarter. Users who have not opted-out of notifications will receive an email indicating that new reports have been published.


Compliance Tools

Overview

When considering their obligations to provide all available breakpoint discounts on sales of Class A shares of front-end load mutual funds, member firms may review the following Breakpoint Checklist and Breakpoint Worksheet, which may help member firms evaluate their breakpoint compliance programs and confirm whether they are capturing all relevant categories of information to provide customers all available breakpoint discounts.


Guidance
The trading activity fee (TAF) is one of the regulatory fees FINRA assesses to recover the costs of supervising and regulating firms.

About FINRA

Background

In March 2017, FINRA's Board of Governors established a new standing committee, the Regulatory Operations Oversight Committee (ROOC), to advise and assist the Board in providing oversight on FINRA's regulatory operations, and supplementing FINRA's broader self-evaluation through FINRA360. This includes providing guidance on the full breadth of FINRA's regulatory operations, including Member Supervision, Market Regulation and Enforcement, among others. The ROOC does not engage in discussions regarding individual enforcement matters.


FAQ
Reporting of Corporate and Agencies Debt Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

FAQ
The following FAQ address general Entitlement questions. For detailed information, refer to the website specific to each user group...

Compliance Tools

The Customer Complaint Report is a quarterly report that displays trends in complaints reported to FINRA's Rule 4530 Application each quarter, pursuant to FINRA Rule 4530. Note: prior to July 1, 2011, complaints were submitted pursuant to NASD Rule 3070 and NYSE Rule 351. When a customer complaint is submitted to FINRA, the submitter must identify the product and problem classification detailed in the complaint. The report allows a firm to see their complaints in two views, by problem identified in the complaint and by product for which the complaint was submitted.


Events & Training

NASAA, the SEC, and FINRA co-hosted a free webinar on identifying and reporting the financial exploitation of senior investors. Firms can use this webinar to help train associated persons about how to identify and report financial exploitation of senior and vulnerable adult investors.


About FINRA

FINRA has made a number of changes in the area of regulatory policy to improve the policy development process and better ensure that our rules reflect current industry dynamics.


FAQ
Frequently asked questions and answers

FAQ
Preliminary Note: FINRA recently adopted enhanced confirmation disclosure requirements for corporate and agency bonds.