Question 1

In order to maintain its registration with a state, a broker-dealer may be required to
I. take a written or oral exam.
II. pay an annual filing fee.
III. maintain a minimum net capital.
IV. file all advertising material with the Administrator.

Accepted Answer

In order to maintain its registration with a state, a broker-dealer may be required to take a written or oral exam, pay an annual filing fee, maintain a minimum net capital, and file all advertising material with the state's Administrator. The Administrator of each state has the authority to determine the specific requirements for the state. All of the selections are within the realm of the Administrator's jurisdiction.

Question 2

Once a broker-dealer has applied for and been granted state registration, the registration remains valid

Accepted Answer

Once a broker-dealer has been granted state registration, that registration is valid until December 31st of that year. Registration automatically terminates annually on December 31st although an Administrator may elect to revoke or suspend a broker-dealer's registration at any time if the Administrator finds just cause.

Question 3

A broker-dealer is required to keep his records for how long?

Accepted Answer

A broker dealer is required to keep his records at least three years.

Question 4

Which of the following entities would be required to register with the state as a broker-
Dealer under the guidelines of the Uniform Securities Act (USA)?

Accepted Answer

Under the guidelines of the USA, none of the entities described in Selections A, B, or C would be required to register with the state as a broker-dealer since the term, as defined by the USA, does not include agents, savings institutions, or entities with no offices in the state who deal exclusively with issuers and/or other broker-dealers, financial institutions, insurance companies, pension funds, or insurance companies. Selections B and C refer to a financial institution and an agent, respectively. In the scenario described in Selection A, the underwriter has no offices in the state and is dealing exclusively with the issuer of the bonds and insurance companies.

Question 5

Joe Romeo is a broker-dealer registered with the state. He has recently hired Betty Buxom as his administrative assistant. As part of her duties, he has given her the responsibility for effecting the purchases and sales of securities for some of his firm's smaller accounts. Ms. Buxom has never applied for nor been granted registration as a broker-dealer or agent. Based on these facts,

Accepted Answer

Since Joe Romeo has allowed Betty Buxom to execute trades, a duty that can legally be performed only by a registered broker-dealer or agent, the Administrator may elect to revoke or suspend Joe Romeo's registration, and Joe may also face civil and criminal penalties. Ms. Buxom needed to be registered as an agent prior to effecting any transactions in the securities markets; there is no grace period. The Administrator is not required to take any action, however.

Question 6

Until yesterday Maddie was a registered agent employed by the broker-dealer, QuikDeals. Yesterday afternoon, issues that had been brewing between her and another employee of the firm came to a head, and Maddie impulsively quit her job. At this point,

Accepted Answer

When Maddie quit her job, her status as a state-registered securities agent was automatically terminated, and she will need to file a new application for registration with the Administrator upon obtaining a position with another broker-dealer. If she does so within thirty days, her registration will become effective as soon as she has filed her application and paid her application fee. While she is required to notify the Administrator that she has terminated her employment with QuikDeals, there is no requirement that she contact any of her clients at QuikDeals.

Question 7

Maddie, a registered agent affiliated with broker-dealer QuikDeals, quit her job on the spur of the moment. Under the guidelines of the Uniform Securities Act (USA), who is responsible for notifying the Administrator?

Accepted Answer

Under the guidelines of the USA, when Maddie quits her job as a registered agent with QuikDeals, both QuikDeals and Maddie are responsible for notifying the Administrator. Both the broker-dealer and the agent involved are required to notify the Administrator whenever an agent begins or ends her association with the broker-dealer.

Question 8

Trevor is currently a registered agent in the state of Connecticut where he has been employed by Connect & Company, a broker-dealer that is registered in Connecticut and has subsidiary operations in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York. Trevor has moved to Massachusetts and is now associated with one of Connect's subsidiaries, a broker-dealer registered in the state. Trevor has applied to the Administrator of Massachusetts for registration as an agent. Can Trevor execute purchases and sales for clients while his registration is still pending?

Accepted Answer

It depends. Because he is a registered agent in another state and the broker-dealer he is now affiliated with is registered in the state of Massachusetts, Trevor can execute purchases and sales, but only for existing clients while his registration with the Massachusetts Administrator is still pending and only for sixty days. This assumes, of course, Trevor has no violations that would restrict him from registering in Massachusetts.

Question 9

Ding is an administrative assistant to the manager of a mutual fund. Most of her day is spent entering data onto a spreadsheet for her boss and answering phone calls. Some of the calls require her to provide information about the some of the fund's financial aspects, such as its closing net asset value on the previous day. What type of registration does Ms. Ding require in order to perform her duties?

Accepted Answer

Since Ms. Ding is an administrative assistant who is merely providing some information about the fund and is not engaging in the purchase or sale of the fund shares, she does not need to apply for any type of registration. An employee who simply provides price and/or some other pertinent information to the public, but who does not engage in the purchase or sale of securities to the public and does not receive a commission based on the sale of securities is not considered to be an agent or an investment adviser.

Question 10

Which of the following statements about agents is (are) false?

Accepted Answer

The statement that an agent must demonstrate a specific minimum level of financial stability for his registration application to be accepted is false. The Administrator may require an agent to post a bond, but there are no specific minimum financial requisites that must be met. The Administrator also has the right to terminate an agent's registration if the agent becomes bankrupt. Both the agent and his broker-dealer affiliate are required to inform the Administrator whenever there is a change in the agent's personal information, such as a name change or a change of address.

Question 11

Which of the following entities must sign a "consent to service of process," thereby allowing the Administrator to receive legal documents that are meant to be served to the entity in place of that entity?
I. agents
II. investment advisers
III. investment adviser representatives
IV. broker-dealers

Accepted Answer

Agents, investment advisers, investment adviser representatives, and broker-dealers must all sign a consent to service of process, allowing the Administrator to receive legal documents in their stead. The consent to service of process must accompany the application for registration with the state or the documentation provided with a notice filing when permitted.

Question 12

Which of the following would fall under the definition of "agent," as defined by the Uniform Securities Act (USA)?

Accepted Answer

None of the selections describe an "agent," as defined by the Uniform Securities Act (USA.) Joe is not executing trades for clients of the broker-dealer, and clerical assistants are not classified as agents. Agents must be individuals, so a firm like Freedom broker-dealers would not be considered an agent. A bank is not an individual, and banks are even excluded from the definition of a broker-dealer.

Question 13

The 2003 NASAA Model Rule requires that investment advisers that are not federal covered maintain their records for at least

Accepted Answer

Investment advisers are required to maintain their records for at least five years.

Question 14

Individual states are prohibited from requiring a broker-dealer or investment adviser to file financial reports more frequently than:

Accepted Answer

Individual states are prohibited from requiring a broker-dealer or investment adviser to file financial reports more frequently than four times a year. Under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, individual states are prohibited from imposing more stringent requirements than those already required by the SEC, and the SEC requires quarterly reporting. Therefore, a state may not require that a broker-dealer or investment adviser file monthly reports with it.

Question 15

A-2-Z Associates advertises itself as a full service brokerage firm that will buy and sell securities for its clients, as well as provide investment advice to them. Its brochure provides a variety of plans to which a client can subscribe. The basic plan is the cheapest and allows the client a maximum number of trades per month for a specified fee. Another, slightly more expensive, plan provides the client with the same maximum number of trades per month, but the client also receives a personalized quarterly review of his portfolio along with advice for restructuring his portfolio based on such factors as current market conditions and specific industry or company information. The most expensive plan is one in which the client is assigned to an individual portfolio manager, who will take total responsibility for the asset allocation of the client's portfolio and will provide the client with monthly reports. Based on the services A-2-Z provides, it must register with the state as:

Accepted Answer

Based on the services A-2-Z provides, it must register with the state as both a broker-dealer and an investment adviser. It is receiving compensation as a broker-dealer for executing purchases and sales of securities for its clients under its basic plan, but it is receiving additional compensation for acting as an investment adviser under the two higher level plans.

Question 16

MoeMoney Investment Advisers, LLC is registered in the state of Texas, and its three offices are all located in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area. Five of its clients-all individuals-have relocated to Colorado and all have indicated a desire to retain the services of MoeMoney. In order for this to be possible,

Accepted Answer

In order for MoeMoney to continue servicing its five individual clients who have relocated to Colorado, neither MoeMoney nor its clients need to do anything. The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996 (NSMIA) established a "de minimis" exemption for investment advisers if they have no office in a state and do business with "no more than five non-institutional clients" during a one-year time frame.

Question 17

Sam Shade had his agent's license revoked by the state of Washington for repeatedly making misleading claims about various investment to investors. He had had it with all the rain anyway and decided to move to the sunshine state of Florida. His brother-in-law was a computer whiz who made money on the side (more than his day job provided, in fact) by supplying illegal immigrants with official-looking documentation, including social security numbers. Sam Shade became Ian Creed in a few clicks of the mouse. As Ian Creed, Sam was hired by Sunny Investment Advisers, an investment adviser firm located in the Florida Keys, in a clerical role. As such, Sam/Ian had access to the confidential information of the firm's clients, which he and his brother-in-law utilized for the purpose of identity theft. Under the Uniform Securities Act guidelines, when Sam and his brother-in-law are caught in their illegal activities,

Accepted Answer

When Sam and his brother-in-law are caught, Sunny Investment Advisers will not be held liable if it can prove that there was no way it could have or should have known of Sam Shade/Ian Creed's license revocation. The drafters of the Uniform Securities Act were cognizant of the fact that employees can be remarkably deceptive when applying for a position, and because of this the Act indicates that the investment adviser must either "have known or should have known" of the Administrator's adverse decision against the employee in order to itself be deemed liable.

Question 18

Which of the following statements regarding an investment adviser representative who has an office in the state is true?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 19

A variable annuity is:

Accepted Answer

A variable annuity is defined as a security, but is exempt from state registration in the opinion of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA.) The Supreme Court of the U.S. passed a ruling that deemed a variable annuity to be a security. The National Securities Market Improvement Act of 1996 (NSMIA) established variable annuities to be federal covered securities, however, since they are, for all intents and purposes, mutual funds. Federal covered securities are exempt from state registration.

Question 20

Which of the following is not a security, as defined by the Uniform Securities Act?
I. an option contract
II. a futures contract on gold
III. a 401K plan
IV. a variable annuity

Accepted Answer

Only Selections II and III are not securities. Neither retirement plans nor commodity futures contracts are deemed to be securities by the Uniform Securities Act. A 401K plan may be invested in securities, but it is not a security itself. A gold futures contract is a contract between two parties for the delivery of the underlying asset, gold. The profits (or losses) are not dependent on the performance of an outside party, which is a critical element, based on a 1946 U.S. Supreme Court decision, which defines a security as "an investment of money. . . with profits to come solely from the efforts of others."

Quiz 4: Uniform Securities Act USA and State Registration Requirements

In order to maintain its registration with a state, a broker-dealer may be required to I. take a written or oral exam. II. pay an annual filing fee. III. maintain a minimum net capital. IV. file all advertising material with the Administrator.

Once a broker-dealer has applied for and been granted state registration, the registration remains valid

A broker-dealer is required to keep his records for how long?

Which of the following entities would be required to register with the state as a broker- Dealer under the guidelines of the Uniform Securities Act (USA) ?

Until yesterday Maddie was a registered agent employed by the broker-dealer, QuikDeals. Yesterday afternoon, issues that had been brewing between her and another employee of the firm came to a head, and Maddie impulsively quit her job. At this point,

Maddie, a registered agent affiliated with broker-dealer QuikDeals, quit her job on the spur of the moment. Under the guidelines of the Uniform Securities Act (USA) , who is responsible for notifying the Administrator?

Which of the following statements about agents is (are) false?

Which of the following entities must sign a "consent to service of process," thereby allowing the Administrator to receive legal documents that are meant to be served to the entity in place of that entity? I. agents II. investment advisers III. investment adviser representatives IV. broker-dealers

Which of the following would fall under the definition of "agent," as defined by the Uniform Securities Act (USA) ?

The 2003 NASAA Model Rule requires that investment advisers that are not federal covered maintain their records for at least

Individual states are prohibited from requiring a broker-dealer or investment adviser to file financial reports more frequently than:

Which of the following statements regarding an investment adviser representative who has an office in the state is true?

A variable annuity is:

Which of the following is not a security, as defined by the Uniform Securities Act? I. an option contract II. a futures contract on gold III. a 401K plan IV. a variable annuity