NRS Insights Blog

June 5 2018 - NRS Insights
Ready for the Final Exams? Take the Most Reliable Route to Passing
Congratulations! You’ve completed that last module and you’re eager to zip through the rest of your exam prep course …
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May 9 2018 - NRS Insights
The DOL Breaks Its Silence on the Status of Its Fiduciary Rule
On Monday, May 7, the Department of Labor issued a “field bulletin” to industry stakeholders stating that it would not pursue enforcement actions against investment advice fiduciaries “who are working diligently and in good faith to comply” with the BIC exemption and principal transaction exemption requirements of its much debated “fiduciary rule.”
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April 27 2018 - NRS Insights
Here We Go Again! SEC Proposes Yet Another New Standard for Brokers
If you’ve been following the saga of the DOL’s fiduciary standard, you know that after a few years of hashing it out, it is still being debated. Now the SEC has picked up this onerous task. On April 18, the SEC voted to propose “Regulation Best Interest,” a “leisurely” 1,000-page read that spells out the rules and interpretations designed to improve the clarity of investor relationships with investment advisers and broker/dealers.
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April 20 2018 - NRS Insights
SEC Proposed Best Interest Standard and New Disclosures
The SEC officially entered the fiduciary standard fray with the release of its much-anticipated fiduciary /best interest proposal April 18. The three-part proposal is likely to be controversial in several respects, as contrasts with the DOL’s hapless Fiduciary Rule are inevitable.
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March 26 2018 - NRS Insights
DOL Fiduciary Rule Strikes Out — Is the SEC Up Next?
In another twist to evolving fiduciary standards in the securities industry, a 2-1 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit vacated the entire Department of Labor’s “fiduciary rule” last Thursday. The DOL rule would extend a fiduciary standard to brokers, insurance agents, and anyone else offering “advice” regarding retirement accounts.
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March 21 2018 - NRS Insights
Cryptocurrency Reporting Requirements: The Skinny on Keeping Your Firm Compliant
In the absence of long-term regulatory solutions to the whirlwind that is digital or cryptocurrency, we have been provided with guidance on how to apply current regulations to this evolving market.The regulators are making it clear that industry professionals will be held accountable for actions that step outside the principles and spirit of current securities rules and regulations.
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March 13 2018 - NRS Insights
FINRA’s New SIE and SKE Exams — The Transition Period
October 1, 2018, marks the day that FINRA will begin to administer the newly revised qualification process where candidates will need to pass a Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) exam before taking a condensed version of the Series 6 or Series 7, known as Top-Off, or Specialized Knowledge Exams (SKE).
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March 5 2018 - NRS Insights
So You Want To Work in the Securities Industry? The odds have been tipped in your favor
Have you dreamed of a lucrative career on Wall Street, but thought that the barriers to entry were too high? As of October 1, 2018, that bar will be lowered a bit. You may have heard that the qualifications process for entering the securities industry is getting a major makeover.
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February 13 2018 - NRS Insights
FINRA Releases Specialized Knowledge Exam Outlines
February 12, 2018 – FINRA released its revised representative level qualification exam outlines, which have been referred to as Specialized Knowledge Exams (SKEs) or Top-Off Exams under FINRA’s new testing procedures.
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February 7 2018 - NRS Insights
New Rules Help Prevent the Financial Exploitation of Senior and Vulnerable Adults
On February 5, 2018, two FINRA rules designed to lessen the financial exploitation of seniors and vulnerable adults (“specified adults”) have taken effect. Specified adults are persons 65 years of age or older or those persons with mental or physical disabilities that impair their abilities to engage in financial transactions.
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