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
The Buildathon: Creating New Technology in Service of Investors
Hackathons aren’t new. But what about a Buildathon? On this episode, we learn about a unique collaboration between FINRA, the private sector and academia that challenged some of the best technology students to solve common problems faced by everyday investors.
November 12, 2019
Podcast
2019 Ketchum Prize: The Evolving World of Retirement Security
Dr. Olivia S. Mitchell’s research into the evolving world of retirement security earned her the 2019 Ketchum Prize, the FINRA Foundation’s highest honor. On this episode, Dr. Mitchell discusses her research and how the way Americans think about and plan for retirement is changing.
October 29, 2019
Podcast
Regulation Best Interest: Preparing for a New Standard of Conduct
Soon brokerage firms will have to comply with a new standard of conduct when working with retail clients with the implementation of Regulation Best Interest. What is the new standard? What will firms need to do to comply? Tune in to learn more from FINRA’s Chief Legal Officer.
October 15, 2019
Board of Governors Meeting
September 2019 Board Update
FINRA CEO Robert Cook and members of the FINRA Board of Governors provide updates from the September 2019 FINRA Board of Governors meeting.
October 03, 2019
Report / Study
2019 Industry Snapshot
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 shares an annual snapshot of some of the data collected in the course of its work. 
October 02, 2019
Podcast
Market Regulation Enforcement: Ensuring Market Integrity
What happens if a brokerage firm doesn’t report trading information appropriately? At first, it might seem like it isn’t a big deal – just a data issue. But is vital. Accurate market data is at the foundation of FINRA’s efforts to ensure the integrity of our markets.
October 01, 2019
Podcast
The Createathon: Breaking Down Silos and Sparking Innovation

It’s easy for any company to get caught up in the status quo, too busy focusing on the challenges of today to anticipate the challenges of tomorrow. The Createathon, FINRA’s take on a hackathon, looks to prevent that by allowing employees across the organization a chance to step away from their day jobs to think differently.

September 17, 2019
Podcast
Collaboration, Expertise, Innovation and Responsibility: Introducing FINRA’s Values

Corporate culture is defined as the way people act. But what helps people understand how to act, how to behave and how to make decisions? That’s the organization’s values.

August 20, 2019
Guidance
Regulatory Notice 19-28

FINRA is issuing this Notice to remind member firms of their supervisory obligations under FINRA Rules 3110 (Supervision) and 3120 (Supervisory Control System) if they hold or transact in customer accounts owned by municipal entities or obligated persons (municipal clients), as defined in Section 15B of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), and participate in investment-related activities with municipal clients, such as recommending or selling non-municipal securities products to such municipal clients.

August 16, 2019
Guidance
Credit For Cooperation: Recognizing Extraordinary Efforts
What does it take to receive credit for extraordinary cooperation when it comes to FINRA Enforcement actions? What does extraordinary even mean in that context? On this episode, we dig into updated guidance on this topic with FINRA’s head of Enforcement.
August 06, 2019
Podcast
Financial Capability Study, Part II: Tracking Shifting Currents of Financial Well-Being
How many Americans participate in the gig economy? Do you regret paying what you did for college? Would you avoid a medical service due to its cost? The new FINRA Foundation Financial Capability Study asked these questions and more to get a pulse on recent changes to American financial capability and well-being.
July 23, 2019
Guidance
Firm Guidance – Private Placement Filings
This reference guide covers a range of private placement topics, from the basic question of "What is a private offering?" to more technical discussions on broker-dealer compliance with FINRA's private placement rules.
July 16, 2019
Get Involved
Upcoming Board Meeting
The FINRA Board of Governors meets this week in Washington, DC. Read President and CEO Robert Cook’s email to firms previewing the agenda.
July 16, 2019
A Few Minutes With FINRA
A Few Minutes With FINRA: Credit for Extraordinary Cooperation
FINRA Executive Vice President and Head of Enforcement Susan Schroeder sits down with Senior Vice President of Member Relations and Education Chip Jones to discuss new guidance on credit for extraordinary cooperation in investigations, as described in Regulatory Notice 19-23. (7 min. 11 sec.)
July 11, 2019
Guidance
Regulatory Notice 19-23

Summary

FINRA is issuing this Notice to restate and supplement prior guidance regarding the circumstances under which a firm or individual may influence the outcome of an investigation by demonstrating extraordinary cooperation. This Notice incorporates FINRA’s prior guidance and provides clarification and additional information about how FINRA assesses whether a potential respondent’s cooperation is “extraordinary” and distinct from the level of cooperation expected of all member firms and their associated persons. 

July 11, 2019
Guidance
Common Cybersecurity Threats

This article highlights some of the common cybersecurity threats faced by broker-dealers. In a number of cases, FINRA has observed that different types of attacks were coordinated and overlapped.

July 09, 2019
Podcast
Financial Capability Study, Part I: Does a Rising Tide Lift All Boats?
The gap between the Haves and the Have Nots continues to widen and Americans are failing to save money, struggling with student loan debt and facing decreasing financial literacy, according to the new FINRA Foundation Financial Capability Study. On this, we delve into the study results and their implication.
July 09, 2019
Podcast
Encore | How the Cloud and Machine Learning Have Transformed FINRA Market Surveillance
This episode originally aired in July 2018. What do physicists and financial industry regulators have in common? More than you'd think. On this episode, we sit down with Tom Gira, head of FINRA’s Market Regulation and Transparency Services group, to learn not just how the cloud and machine learning have fundamentally improved FINRA's ability to regulate markets, but also what we've been learning from physicists along the way.
June 25, 2019
Podcast
DXT: Transforming the Digital Experience of Firms
FINRA is in the middle of a wide-ranging, multi-year effort to revolutionize the digital experience of FINRA member firms. It’s a transformation driven by firms for firms. On this episode, we learn how the project will simplify the user experience, increase flexibility and automation when it comes to user-defined access to FINRA data and more.
June 11, 2019
Interpretive Letter
Interpretive letter to Jonathan D. Wiley, The Forbes Securities Group
Equity Securities as Compensation for Capital Acquisition Brokers
May 30, 2019
Guidance
Senior Safe Act Fact Sheet

Please download the Senior Safe Act Fact Sheet

May 19, 2019
Podcast
Beyond Hollywood, Part II: AML Priorities and Best Practices
The world of money laundering is a fast-paced and ever evolving, which can make it difficult for a financial firm to develop and maintain a strong anti-money laundering program. On this episode, two FINRA anti-money laundering experts discuss current priorities and best practices when it comes to AML regulation.
May 14, 2019
Podcast
Beyond Hollywood: Money Laundering in the Securities Industry
The only thing many people know about money laundering is what they’ve learned from Hollywood. So if you want to really understand what money laundering is, and more specifically, the efforts brokerage firms must take to prevent and detect it, tune in. On this episode we talk to two of FINRA’s Anti-Money Laundering experts.
April 30, 2019
About FINRA
Report on Use of 2018 Fine Monies

FINRA is a not-for-profit, self-regulatory organization (SRO) dedicated to promoting investor protection and market integrity in a manner that facilitates vibrant capital markets. One of FINRA’s tools for achieving this objective is fair and effective enforcement of our member firms’ compliance with securities laws and regulations.

April 26, 2019
Podcast
FINRA’s Point Guard: The Central Review Group
The Central Review Group is the nerve center of FINRA’s Office of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence (OFDMI). On this episode of FINRA Unscripted, we learn how the group combs through tens of thousands of investor complaints, regulatory tips, disclosure events, routine regulatory filings and more every year to look for red flags of fraud or other concerns.
April 02, 2019