FINRA Lawyer Blog
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) views its mandate as investor protection and as such, they have given notice that a new suitability rule, Rule 2111, will go into effect on July 9, 2012.
As long as there have been investors and brokers, there have been people who take advantage and people who are taken advantage of. This rule codifies a standard that FINRA thinks is best for the investing public by imposing more stringent regulations on securities that a broker recommends to buy/sell, including those within a client’s existing portfolio. Rule 2111 has significant implications for broker-dealers who maintain retail brokerage accounts. The rule by its own terms, carves out institutional accounts: So if you are a broker-dealer that sells to hedge funds, this is not a game changer. But if you are selling to Main Street as opposed to Wall Street, then this is a very significant rule.
The new rule contains three guiding principles. Each recommendation must have: