NASAA Is Watching Out for You

Column distributed by Hearst Connecticut Media Group.

Links to resources referenced:

• NASAA:   About Us
  • https://www.nasaa.org/about-us/
    • Related column excerpt:
      • “NASAA is ‘the voice of state securities agencies’ (see ‘About Us’ on the NASAA website). The SEC is the federal government agency regulating the securities industry, and FINRA oversees member brokerage firms.
• NASAA: About
  • https://www.nasaa.org/about/  
    • Related column excerpt:
      • “NASAA members license stockbrokers, investment adviser firms that don’t meet the size requirements of SEC regulation (those managing less than $100 million in assets) and securities firms that conduct business in their respective states. NASAA members also enforce state securities laws.”
• NASAA: “NASAA Members Approve Amendments for Model Rule”
  • https://www.nasaa.org/75495/nasaa-members-approve-amendments-for-model-rule/?qoid=newsroom  
    • Related column excerpt:
      • “A few months ago, NASAA announced that its members voted ‘to adopt proposed amendments to NASAA’s “Dishonest or Unethical Business Practices of Broker-Dealers and Agents” model rule (Conduct Rule).’”
• Securities and Exchange Commission -- Regulation Best Interest: The Broker-Dealer Standard of Conduct
  • https://www.sec.gov/files/rules/final/2019/34-86031.pdf  
    • Related column excerpt:
      • “For context, the SEC had adopted Regulation Best Interest in 2019. At the time, the SEC stated that ‘Reg BI,’ adopted as a new rule under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, ‘enhances the broker-dealer standard of conduct beyond existing suitability obligations, and aligns the standard of conduct with retail customers’ reasonable expectations.’”
• NASAA: “NASAA Report Finds that Many Broker-Dealer Firms Still Place Their Financial Interests Ahead of Their Customers Despite Implementation of Regulation Best Interest”
  • https://www.nasaa.org/60748/nasaa-report-finds-that-many-broker-dealer-firms-still-place-their-financial-interests-ahead-of-their-customers-despite-implementation-of-regulation-best-interest/?qoid=newsroom
    • Related column excerpts:
      • “A 2021 NASAA survey found that little had changed since the adoption of Reg BI. The survey, done in the first year following the SEC’s compliance deadline for Reg BI, found that ‘(t)he percentage of broker-dealer firms surveyed that were offering complex, costly, and risky products increased by 11% after Reg BI took effect.’”
      • “The survey’s conclusion: ‘[S]ecurities regulators will need to see to it that firms do a much better job of providing fair and balanced point-of-sale disclosure regarding fees, costs, and risks, particularly where a firm is recommending the most expensive and riskiest products in the retail market.’”