Are you looking at your calendar and wondering how you could have let it happen again? How did it get this late in the year, and you still have your annual requirements to complete? You promised yourself last year you would start earlier. Although it may not make you feel any better, but most of us have been in this situation.

This month's excerpt, Associated Persons' Disclosure Obligations to Their Firm, is taken from the FIRE Solutions Firm Element CE course, Registered Representative Obligations. Although most of these disclosure obligations are not due on December 31, they are due on an annual basis, and for most firms that means before year-end.

The article and the course are applicable to all associated persons including investment advisers, institutional representatives, and municipal securities representatives. The article is a checklist of items that should be, or are required to be, updated or acknowledged on an annual basis.

Click here for your copy of "Associated Persons' Disclosure Obligations to Their Firm

About the Course

Registered Representative Obligations provides registered representatives with an overview of their ongoing responsibilities to maintain their registration status, disclose material information, and handle customer accounts in an ethical manner. Portions of this course focus on ethical guidelines and compliance with both customer suitability requirements under FINRA's new Rule 2111, and registered representatives' obligation to deal fairly with customers and broker/dealer firms.

Registered Representative Obligations also reviews other obligations that are expected of registered representatives, including providing quality customer service, conducting business appropriately, and behaving ethically.

Highlights of the course include:

• LICENSING AND CONTINUING EDUCATION
  • U-4 registration and updates
  • Arbitration disclosure
  • FINRA BrokerCheck
  • Form U-5
  • Firm Element Continuing Education
  • Regulatory Element Continuing Education
• REPRESENTATIVE CONFLICTS AND DISCLOSURES
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Outside business activities
  • Private securities transactions
  • Personal brokerage accounts
  • Material information
  • Trading restrictions
  • Gifts and entertainment
  • Non-cash compensation
  • Sharing commissions
  • Customer loans
  • Customer complaints
• CUSTOMER ACCOUNT OBLIGATIONS
  • Suitability obligations under FINRA Rule 2111
  • Security and strategy recommendations
  • Suitability standards
  • High professional standards
  • Earning trust and confidence

For a more detailed explanation of Registered Representative Obligations, contact one of our sales representatives or email us at sales@firesolutions.com.

FIRE Compliance Solutions

As you may know, FIRE Solutions provides Firm Element training courses, Annual Compliance Meetings, and Annual Compliance Questionnaires, all consistent with the most current regulatory updates and "click-of-the-button" reporting.

FIRE Solutions also offers an effective way to insure that all your associated persons update their disclosures, or confirm that past disclosures are still current, with our Annual Compliance Questionnaire. Each associated person receives a link, login information to access, and completes the questionnaire. The program administrator can pull up a report to review and process the responses, and demonstrate a proactive compliance culture during any future regulatory audit.

FIRE also has tools to collect and document information regarding gifts and non-cash compensation, as well as political contributions ("pay to play").

A link to our catalog that includes the 2011 Firm Element CE, Annual Compliance Meeting topics, Insurance CE, CFP, and Securities Licensing courses is available below.

For a copy of the catalog click here.

Other Key Updates

In 2010, we added 34 new courses to the FIRE Solutions catalog, including the full line of FINRA eLearning courses. We've added 25 more in 2011. Course descriptions are available in our catalog.

For more info, contact your FIRE sales representative at sales@firesolutions.com