The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently issued a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) release on the qualifications necessary to engage in investment banking activities, and it is apparent that membership clearly failed to ask the right questions when FINRA proposed Rule 1032 (i) (Limited Representative – Investment Banking) (the “Rule”) and the Series 79 exam qualifications for investment banking in 2009. In the current FAQ release, FINRA “clarified” the required qualifications necessary to engage in investment banking activities for membership. That clarification essentially re-defines the meaning of “marketing”, which results in most full service investment bankers now being required to obtain both the Series 79, for their investment banking activities, and the Series 7, Series 62 or Series 82 for “marketing” the respective offerings and interacting with investors.

Courtesy of the LeGaye Law Firm

Michael Schaps, Co-Author

Daniel E. LeGaye, Co-Author