In July 2017 the SEC approved FINRA’s proposed rule change to streamline competency exams and expand opportunities for prospective securities professionals
STA Open Call – November 29, 2017 – Call Notes
“New FINRA Exam Process”
Presenter: Joe McDonald, Senior Director Exams & Continuing Education FINRA
Opening Remarks – Jim Toes, STA President & CEO
Senate Tax Bill – The Senate Finance Committee passed a comprehensive tax reform bill. The bill is now being debated by the full Senate. One item of particular concern to STA is a provision that would generally require taxpayers to use a FIFO cost basis on the sale of securities. We published a bulletin publicly and to Hill Staff voicing our objection. link
SEC Commissioner Nominees Update – Nominees for the two (2) SEC Commissioner Positions; Hester Peirce and Robert Jackson received approval from the Senate Banking Committee. They now await approval from the full Senate. Unfortunately, we do not expect this to happen this year.
House Fin’l Services Subcommittee Hearing on CAT – The House Financial Services Committee will be
holding a hearing titled “Implementation and Cybersecurity Protocols of the Consolidated Audit Trail” on November 30th at 10am. Among those testifying will be, Mike Beller, CEO of Thesys Technologies and Chris Concannon, President & COO of Cboe. link
Open Call Summary
In July, 2017 the SEC approved FINRA’s proposed rule change to streamline competency exams and expand opportunities for prospective securities professionals seeking to enter or re-enter the securities
industry. The proposal is a combination of consolidating certain registration rules and restructuring the representative-level qualification examinations by creating a general knowledge examination called the
Securities Industry Essentials (SIE). The SIE is a new, introductory-level FINRA exam for prospective securities industry professionals. The SIE assesses a candidate’s knowledge of basic securities industry information and upon passing is valid for four years. Association with a firm is not required to take the SIE however passing it alone does not qualify an individual to engage in the securities business. Individuals, who do pass the SIE and are then sponsored by a FINRA member firm, need only to take an abridged version of a qualification exam (such as the Series 7). These changes become effective Oct 1, 2018. Please refer to the below links for additional informational on the proposal and how to make a direct inquiry to Joe McDonald.
SEC Approves FINRA Exam and Continuing Education Requirement link
FINRA Securities Industry Essentials Exam, “SIE” link
This brief is meant for informational purposes only and therefore should not be considered legal advice. STA’s goal is to raise awareness and encourage industry dialogue.