On July 16th, the SEC, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced they will jointly host a virtual Compliance Outreach Program for Municipal Advisors. The webcast program will be held Thursday, August 13, 2020, from 1 pm to 3 pm ET.
The outreach program, which is particularly timely given the financial impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, will provide municipal market participants an opportunity to hear from SEC, MSRB, and FINRA staff on timely regulatory and compliance matters for municipal advisors. Topics include:
- the duties and standards of conduct for municipal advisors under MSRB Rules G-42 and G-17
- the fiduciary duty of municipal advisors under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
- the SEC’s temporary conditional exemption from broker registration for certain direct placement activities
- operational considerations for registered municipal advisors
- OCIE and FINRA examination processes and common observations, as well as relevant SEC and FINRA enforcement actions
After opening remarks and a program preview, the event will consist of three panels: Fiduciary Duty, Fair Dealing, and Managing Conflicts of Interest (1:05pm – 1:40pm), Regulatory Obligations of Operating as a Municipal Advisor (1:40pm – 2:15pm), and SEC and FINRA Examination and Enforcement (2:15pm – 3:00pm).
Registration is free and available through MSRB’s website. The program will also be archived on the SEC’s Compliance Outreach Program for Municipal Advisors webpage for later viewing. Participants are also encouraged to submit questions in advance of the event by emailing MSRBEvents@msrb.org. Continuing professional education credit is available.
The agenda and other information is available on the SEC’s website.
Sources:
SEC, MSRB, FINRA to Hold Compliance Outreach Program for Municipal Advisors (www.sec.gov)
Compliance Outreach Program for Municipal Advisors (www.sec.gov)
