Broker Dealers, IRs and their customers should take notice of FINRA Rule 2111, governing suitability, revised as of July 9, 2012.
Brokers have long been required to make only suitable recommendations to their customers. This requirement is based upon the fundamental principle of “fair dealing” and has been broadening over the years in response to case law and interpretive statements from FINRA. Members and firms may not disclaim their responsibilities under this Rule.
As noted in Supplemental Materials .05, “Rule 2111 is composed of three main obligations: reasonable-basis suitability, customer-specific suitability, and quantitative suitability.” These may be summarized by the four following requirements:
- Reasonable Basis to Recommend the Product
You can’t recommend a product based only on word on the street, or a tip from your colleague. The Broker must understand the products and strategies he or she is recommending. This should be particularly true for derivative products. Note that an “explicit recommendation to hold”, as well as to buy or sell, must be suitable. - Reasonable for the Customer
What makes sense for a retired 80 year old may be overly cautious for a big-income 40 year old. The recommendation must fit the particular’s “investment profile”. The new rule states a number of factors that Brokers should make themselves aware of before formulating a recommendation tailored to a specific customer’s needs.
Institutional customers may be excluded from suitability requirements if they provide the Broker with a signed document “affirmatively indicating that it is exercising independent judgment.” - Reasonable Amount
The amount recommended must be appropriate for the customer’s overall portfolio, particularly when the Broker has discretionary trading control over the account. - All documented by more paperwork
Is there ever a new rule without new paperwork? The Broker must document compliance with all of these measures by legible, contemporaneous and detailed notes that go into the file. Gather more data from existing clients. Upgrade your intake forms to elicit more information. Brokers should be prepared to use their notes to defend your position in a FINRA arbitration. Customers: keep your own notes. They may prove to be the winning evidence if you make a claim.
Supplemental material .03 to the Rule excludes certain recommended strategies, specifically
- advice “general financial and investment information”;
- “descriptive information about an employer- sponsored retirement or benefit plan
- “asset allocation models” based upon “generally accepted investment theory.”
Proceed with caution.
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The foregoing is general educational material and is not intended to be used as legal advice for specific situation. Nor is it intended to create a lawyer-client relationship. If you have questions about your own rights or duties in a particular situation, consult a lawyer experienced in FINRA matters.
FINRA’s Rule 2111, effective as of July 9, 2012, is reproduced on the following pages:
2111. Suitability
This rule was introduced with the filing of SR-FINRA-2010-039 which has been approved by the SEC. This rule becomes effective on July 9, 2012.
(a) A member or an associated person must have a reasonable basis to believe that a recommended transaction or investment strategy involving a security or securities is suitable for the customer, based on the information obtained through the reasonable diligence of the member or associated person to ascertain the customer’s investment profile. A customer’s investment profile includes, but is not limited to, the customer’s age, other investments, financial situation and needs, tax status, investment objectives, investment experience, investment time horizon, liquidity needs, risk tolerance, and any other information the customer may disclose to the member or associated person in connection with such recommendation.
(b) A member or associated person fulfills the customer-specific suitability obligation for an institutional account, as defined in Rule 4512(c), if (1) the member or associated person has a reasonable basis to believe that the institutional customer is capable of evaluating investment risks independently, both in general and with regard to particular transactions and investment strategies involving a security or securities and (2) the institutional customer affirmatively indicates that it is exercising independent judgment in evaluating the member’s or associated person’s recommendations. Where an institutional customer has delegated decision-making authority to an agent, such as an investment adviser or a bank trust department, these factors shall be applied to the agent.
• • • Supplementary Material: ————–
.01 General Principles. Implicit in all member and associated person relationships with customers and others is the fundamental responsibility for fair dealing. Sales efforts must therefore be undertaken only on a basis that can be judged as being within the ethical standards of FINRA’s rules, with particular emphasis on the requirement to deal fairly with the public. The suitability rule is fundamental to fair dealing and is intended to promote ethical sales practices and high standards of professional conduct.
.02 Disclaimers. A member or associated person cannot disclaim any responsibilities under the suitability rule.
.03 Recommended Strategies. The phrase “investment strategy involving a security or securities” used in this Rule is to be interpreted broadly and would include, among other things, an explicit recommendation to hold a security or securities. However, the following communications are excluded from the coverage of Rule 2111 as long as they do not include (standing alone or in combination with other communications) a recommendation of a particular security or securities:
(a) General financial and investment information, including (i) basic investment concepts, such as risk and return, diversification, dollar cost averaging, compounded return, and tax deferred investment, (ii) historic differences in the return of asset classes (e.g., equities, bonds, or cash) based on standard market indices, (iii) effects of inflation, (iv) estimates of future retirement income needs, and (v) assessment of a customer’s investment profile;
(b) Descriptive information about an employer-sponsored retirement or benefit plan, participation in the plan, the benefits of plan participation, and the investment options available under the plan;
(c) Asset allocation models that are (i) based on generally accepted investment theory, (ii) accompanied by disclosures of all material facts and assumptions that may affect a reasonable investor’s assessment of the asset allocation model or any report generated by such model, and (iii) in compliance with NASD IM-2210-6 (Requirements for the Use of Investment Analysis Tools) if the asset allocation model is an “investment analysis tool” covered by NASD IM-2210-6; and
(d) Interactive investment materials that incorporate the above.
.04 Customer’s Investment Profile. A member or associated person shall make a recommendation covered by this Rule only if, among other things, the member or associated person has sufficient information about the customer to have a reasonable basis to believe that the recommendation is suitable for that customer. The factors delineated in Rule 2111(a) regarding a customer’s investment profile generally are relevant to a determination regarding whether a recommendation is suitable for a particular customer, although the level of importance of each factor may vary depending on the facts and circumstances of the particular case. A member or associated person shall use reasonable diligence to obtain and analyze all of the factors delineated in Rule 2111(a) unless the member or associated person has a reasonable basis to believe, documented with specificity, that one or more of the factors are not relevant components of a customer’s investment profile in light of the facts and circumstances of the particular case.
.05 Components of Suitability Obligations. Rule 2111 is composed of three main obligations: reasonable-basis suitability, customer-specific suitability, and quantitative suitability.
(a) The reasonable-basis obligation requires a member or associated person to have a reasonable basis to believe, based on reasonable diligence, that the recommendation is suitable for at least some investors. In general, what constitutes reasonable diligence will vary depending on, among other things, the complexity of and risks associated with the security or investment strategy and the member’s or associated person’s familiarity with the security or investment strategy. A member’s or associated person’s reasonable diligence must provide the member or associated person with an understanding of the potential risks and rewards associated with the recommended security or strategy. The lack of such an understanding when recommending a security or strategy violates the suitability rule.
(b) The customer-specific obligation requires that a member or associated person have a reasonable basis to believe that the recommendation is suitable for a particular customer based on that customer’s investment profile, as delineated in Rule 2111(a).
(c) Quantitative suitability requires a member or associated person who has actual or de facto control over a customer account to have a reasonable basis for believing that a series of recommended transactions, even if suitable when viewed in isolation, are not excessive and unsuitable for the customer when taken together in light of the customer’s investment profile, as delineated in Rule 2111(a). No single test defines excessive activity, but factors such as the turnover rate, the cost-equity ratio, and the use of in-and-out trading in a customer’s account may provide a basis for a finding that a member or associated person has violated the quantitative suitability obligation.
.06 Customer’s Financial Ability. Rule 2111 prohibits a member or associated person from recommending a transaction or investment strategy involving a security or securities or the continuing purchase of a security or securities or use of an investment strategy involving a security or securities unless the member or associated person has a reasonable basis to believe that the customer has the financial ability to meet such a commitment.
.07 Institutional Investor Exemption. Rule 2111(b) provides an exemption to customer-specific suitability regarding institutional investors if the conditions delineated in that paragraph are satisfied. With respect to having to indicate affirmatively that it is exercising independent judgment in evaluating the member’s or associated person’s recommendations, an institutional customer may indicate that it is exercising independent judgment on a trade-by-trade basis, on an asset-class-by-asset-class basis, or in terms of all potential transactions for its account.
Adopted by SR-FINRA-2010-039 and amended by SR-FINRA-2011-016 and SR-FINRA-2012-027 eff. July 9, 2012.
