FINRA’s New Competency Exams a ‘Significant’ Event for Some BDs
September 27, 2018 By Melanie Waddell, Washington Watch, October issue of Investment Advisor Magazine Broker-dealers have been flooding the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority with questions about the restructuring of the self-regulator’s competency exam program, which takes effect Oct. 1. FINRA released in mid-September FAQ guidance on its qualification and registration requirements as set forth in Rules 1210 through 1240. The broker-dealer regulator is creating a Securities Industry Essentials (SIE or Essentials) exam and revising the rep-level exams. FINRA announced last July that the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the rule change, intended to streamline competency exams to, in part, facilitate opportunities for professionals seeking to enter or re-enter the securities industry. Robert Cook, FINRA’s president and CEO, said last year that the new exam approach “would give individuals seeking to enter the securities industry the opportunity...