Only selections II and III are violations of insider trading rules. If you receive an unsolicited call from a client requesting a sale (or purchase) of that firm’s stock, it is not considered to be an insider transaction. If you have insider information from you brother about the merger of VideoMagic with another firm, you cannot buy stock yourself in the target firm in anticipation of a rise in price, nor can you recommend the stock to customers based on your expectation of a stock price increase.

Yes, there have been violations of securities laws in this instance; the promissory note required registration, and Ms. Naiveté has been defrauded. Promissory notes are considered to be securities as defined by the Uniform Securities Act and, as such, must be registered with the state before they can be offered for sale. Furthermore, a promissory note is a promise to repay, and Mr. Smooth has defaulted on this promise after telling Ms. Naiveté that the investment was close to being risk-free. In essence, he took Ms. Naiveté’s money under false pretenses when he sold her the note, and that is the definition of fraud.

Under the 2002 Uniform Securities Act, registration by coordination allows securities that are not federal covered securities to be registered simultaneously with the SEC and with the states in which the securities will be offered for sale. Federal covered securities are exempt from state registration and are required to submit only a notice filing with the Administrator of the state. This is not the same as registration by coordination.

Don can enter a commission-splitting agreement with Huey only since he is the only one who is also working for GetErDone Broker-Dealers. It is considered unethical to split “commissions, profits or other compensation. . .with any person not also registered as an agent for the same broker-dealer,” under NASAA Model Rules.

If you were employed as an agent for a broker-dealer who has had his license revoked, you are no longer a licensed agent with the state and you will have to reapply for a license and pay the requisite filing fees in order to work for another broker-dealer. Your license terminated when your affiliation with the unscrupulous broker ended, even though it was through no fault of your own. Since you have done nothing for which to be penalized, however, your registration becomes effective upon your filing and paying your fees.

Regardless of whether the investment adviser is register with the SEC or is itself registered with the state, all of its investment adviser representatives (IARs) are required to register with the state if they operate a place of business in the state.

Selections I, II, and III are true statements. In order for an investment adviser to act as a custodian for a client’s securities, he must first make certain that the Administrator of the state in which he’s registered does not prohibit it. Then he must inform the Administrator in writing that he will be acting as a custodian for the client, and he has to pay for an independent CPA to audit his books once a year to make certain that everything is copasetic, upon which the CPA reports his findings to the state Administrator. There are also other requirements that must be met.

Once you have passed the necessary exams and are applying for registration as an agent, you must pay the full annual fee and your license will expire on December 31st of the current year, no matter how late in the year it is.

Only Selections II and III are correct. The Administrator may require a firm to supply it with any prospectus, pamphlet, advertisement, or other sales literature intended for prospective investors unless the security is a federal covered security or is issued by a state credit union, both of which are on a longer list of exempted securities. It doesn’t matter whether or not the securities will be sold to clients of an investment advisory firm.

Yes. When Stu recommends an investment in municipal bonds for a classic IRA account, he has made an unsuitable recommendation, which is a prohibited practice, and he can have his license revoked or suspended. Municipal bonds are not suitable investments for a classic IRA because municipal bonds pay interest that is at least free from federal taxation, so they offer a lower yield than fully taxable bonds of similar risk. The money in a classic IRA grows tax-free anyway, so the client is getting a lower yield with no benefit.