Question 1

Carrie is a registered agent employed by CanDo Broker-Dealers. Her uncle is a minister who regularly refers his parishioners to Carrie, in return for which Carrie has agreed to donate a quarter of her commissions from these transactions to the parish. Is Carrie doing anything illegal?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Carrie is violating NASAA's Model Rules in splitting her commissions with an entity that is not a registered agent affiliated with her firm. It doesn't matter that the entity is a church, even if that church is itself a client of the broker-dealer.

Question 2

You had the misfortune of working as a registered agent for an unscrupulous broker-
Dealer. You weren't privy to any of it, but apparently, your broker-dealer was guilty of some fraudulent activities and has had his license revoked. In this instance,

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 3

A margin transaction refers to a transaction

Accepted Answer

A margin transaction refers to a transaction in which the client borrows some of the money that he is investing. It is a recognized practice.

Question 4

Bob Gogetter is an agent with CanDo Broker-Dealers. One of Bob's clients is out of the country and cannot be contacted. The client holds some stock in a company that just released some information that should make its stock price soar. Bob knows that this client would probably want to increase his holdings, so Bob opens a margin account for his client and borrows the money to buy shares. As it happened, the stock price did soar, and Bob's
Client earned a sizeable profit. Is Bob in violation of any securities acts?

Accepted Answer

Yes. When he opened a margin account for a client without the client's written authorization, Bob committed a securities violation. This is strictly prohibited regardless of whether the client profited or not.

Question 5

A "market not held" order is

Accepted Answer

A "market not held" order is one in which the client tells the broker to use his own discretion in timing a purchase or sale in an attempt to get a better price than the current market price. An order to buy or sell stock at a specified price is a limit order. An order to sell securities that the investor owns if the stock decreases by a certain amount is known as a stop sell order or a stop loss sell order.

Question 6

You are a registered agent with a large brokerage firm. Your client is a very busy woman. She is interested in purchasing 500 shares of Google, but she thinks this morning's opening price is too high. She's going to be in meetings and then on a transatlantic flight. She wants the purchase to take place today because she believes Google's price is just going to keep rising with only the occasional daily ups and downs. She wants you to use your discretion and try to get her the best price for the stock in today's trading session. Which of the following statements are true?

Accepted Answer

You can tell her that you will be able to execute this for her as a "market not held" order that permits you to use your discretion in timing the purchase in order to try to get a better price than currently exists. As long as you are only being requested to use your discretion in the timing and price of the transaction, and not in the actual security being traded or the size of the trade, you do not need written authorization. However, if written authorization is required, you must have it in your hand before you can effect a transaction. In other words, it isn't good enough for it to be in the mail.

Question 7

Which of the following trades is illegal?

Accepted Answer

It is illegal to sell a mutual fund if the purchaser hasn't received a prospectus. The purchaser must receive this no later than the date on which the trade confirmation is due. Short sales, margin transactions, and market-not-held orders are all legitimate.

Question 8

Which of the following scenarios describes activities that are disallowed under the NASAA Model Rules?
I. Broker-dealer Anon observes that a client placed a stop loss order to sell her 1,500 shares of Amazon.com stock for $131 when the stock was selling for $134. Anon sold the stock for $133 when it started to fall during the day and credited the client's account with $131 per share when stock dropped further to $129 a share.
II. Penny is an agent with Broker-dealer Anon. She recently recommended that a client buy a stock that Penny thought would do well. As it turned out, Penny was wrong, and she offers to refund the commission that the client paid her.
III. Broker-dealer Anon is part of the selling group of a hot new IPO. As such, the firm purchases 50% of the shares for its own portfolio and sells the remainder to the public.

Accepted Answer

Selections I, II, and III are all disallowed under the NASAA Model Rules. In Selection I, Broker-dealer Anon has made an unauthorized transaction and has also stolen from his client. The stop order indicated that the client's Amazon.com order should be effected only if the stock dropped to $131 a share or less. Anon jumped the gun and sold it for $133, but only gave the client the specified price of $131 a share. In the scenario described in Selection II, Penny's intentions might have been good, but an agent is not allowed to refund commissions. Anon is also in violation in Selection III's scenario. A member of the selling group is expected to make "bona fide" public offerings of the securities allotted him. To purchase some of the securities for itself is prohibited.

Question 9

A limited power-of-attorney gives the designated person the right to
I. order the sale of an asset owned by the account holder and have a check written to the account holder for the amount of the proceeds.
II. obtain account statements, including tax statements, on behalf of the account holder.
III. order the purchase of an asset for the account holder's account.

Accepted Answer

Only Selections II and III are true. A limited power-of-attorney gives the designated person the right to obtain account statements, including tax statements, on behalf of the account holder and to order the purchase of an asset for the account holder's account. Only a full (or unlimited) power-of-attorney allows the designated person to withdraw any proceeds from the account.

Question 10

Under NASAA Model Rules, it is permissible for the registered representative of a broker-dealer to split his or her commission with
I. a client.
II. the broker-dealer with which the registered representative is affiliated.
III. another registered representative working for the same broker-dealer.
IV. the administrative assistant who directs calls to the registered representative and provides other services for the agent.

Accepted Answer

Only Selections II and III are correct. Under NASAA Model Rules, a registered representative of a broker-dealer is entitled to split his or her commission only with his or her broker-dealer or with another registered representative of that broker-dealer. He is not permitted to share commissions with a client or with anyone who works for the broker-dealer, but is not a registered agent.

Question 11

When a customer files a complaint with a broker-dealer,
I. the broker-dealer must submit the complaint to the firm's compliance department.
II. the broker-dealer must provide a prompt written response to the complainant.
III. the broker-dealer must temporarily suspend the activities of any agent named in the complaint.

Accepted Answer

Only Selections I and II are true. When a customer files a complaint with a broker-dealer, the broker-dealer is required to submit the complaint to the firm's compliance department, if any, and to provide the complainant with a prompt written response. It is not necessary to suspend the activities of an agent named in the complaint.

Question 12

Which of the following are examples of the prohibited practice of manipulation in the securities markets?
I. Broker-Dealer Joker is unhappy with its investment in the stock of a speculative firm and engages another broker-dealer to purchase a large number of shares from it, with the unofficial agreement to buy back those shares, offer more shares which the second broker-dealer will purchase, and so on.
II. Broker-Dealer Joker has a large short position in the stock of a certain corporation. Joker offers a bonus to its agents who effect sale transactions in the stock.
III. A client calls Broker-Dealer Joker with a request to purchase 20 bonds issued by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT.) The bonds are currently selling for their par value of $1,000. Knowing this, Joker offers to sells the client the bonds for $120 per $100 of par, or $1,200 per $1,000 bond.

Accepted Answer

Only Selections I and II are examples of manipulation in the securities market. It is considered to be manipulation if one firm engages another firm to make a series of purchases and sales that will make it appear that there is very active trading in the security; it is also considered manipulation if a broker-dealer encourages its agents to solicit sales of a security in which it has a short position since that broker-dealer is hoping that the sales will drive the price of the security down, thereby making the firm's position profitable. Although the offer to sell a client bonds at a much higher price than their market price is illegal, it is not an example of price manipulation.

Question 13

You are a registered agent with a broker-dealer. One of your clients visits you and wants you to sell some of the U.S. government bonds she owns and purchase shares of a specific aggressive growth mutual fund for her with the proceeds. Your client is a mentally-
Competent, 84-year-old woman but, based on your other knowledge of her situation, you believe it to be an unwise move. You should

Accepted Answer

If, as a registered agent with a broker-dealer, you receive an order from a client that you don't believe is in her best interests, you should tell her that, but you must still execute the transactions if she insists. You may not legally ignore her instructions, nor should you bother either the mutual fund or your supervisor with this, given the facts as provided; you should deal with it yourself.

Question 14

Which of the following is not a prohibited practice for broker-dealers under the NASAA Model Rules?

Accepted Answer

Lending money to clients for them to invest is not a prohibited practice. This is otherwise known as a margin transaction.

Question 15

According to the NASAA Model Rules, a broker-dealer is not permitted to allow a customer to engage in margin transactions unless

Accepted Answer

A broker-dealer is not permitted to allow a customer to engage in margin transactions unless the broker-dealer receives a margin agreement signed by the client promptly after the client's first margin transaction.

Question 16

Which of the following does not describe a prohibited practice for broker-dealers under the NASAA Model Rules?
I. SecureMoney Broker-Dealers has received a request from a client who wants SecureMoney to "identify a few solid firms in the Asian market and invest up to $20,000 in them." SecureMoney executes the purchases and receives the requisite signed discretionary authorization from the client before the settlement date.
II. CanDo Broker-Dealers executes a margin transaction for a client, promptly receiving a signed, written margin agreement from the client after the transaction takes place.
III. GetErDone Broker-Dealers receives a call from a client who wants to purchase some securities on margin. GetErDone has the client come into the office to sign a properly executed margin agreement prior to effecting the transaction.

Accepted Answer

Neither Selection II nor Selection III describes a prohibited practice for broker-dealers under the NASAA Model Rules. Broker-dealers are permitted to execute margin transactions for clients as long as they receive a signed, written margin agreement promptly after the initial margin transaction takes place. The agreement need not be signed beforehand. Discretionary authorizations do need to be signed before the broker-dealer executes any discretionary transactions for a client, so Selection I describes a prohibited practice.

Question 17

Broker-dealer Small & Associates has received a complaint about one of its agents, Mr. Ari Gaunt. Small & Associates is required to

Accepted Answer

Small and Associates must provide the client a written response to the complaint about Mr. Ari Gaunt. The broker-dealer does not need to forward the complaint immediately to the state Administrator, nor is it required to keep the complaint in Mr. Gaunt's employee file indefinitely.

Question 18

When a client has purchased securities on margin, the broker-dealer

Accepted Answer

A broker-dealer is required to keep any securities a client paid cash for separate from the securities that the client purchased on margin, and upon receiving a written agreement signed by the client-a hypothecation agreement-may use those securities that were purchased on margin as collateral for a loan from a bank. The broker-dealer may not require that a client leave securities purchased through cash transactions in street name.

Question 19

A hypothecation agreement refers to

Accepted Answer

A hypothecation agreement refers to an agreement signed by a client who is executing a margin transaction that allows the broker to hold the margined securities in street name as collateral for the loan.

Question 20

Which of the following documents must a broker-dealer deliver on or prior to the confirmation due date to a client who is purchasing a security?

Accepted Answer

A broker-dealer must deliver a final prospectus to a client who is purchasing a security either on or prior to the confirmation due date. The margin agreement need not be signed until after the initial transaction takes place. The hypothecation agreement is part of the margin agreement. As an alternative, a preliminary prospectus can be provided, but it must be accompanied by additional information that is contained in the final prospectus, but is missing from the preliminary prospectus. Therefore, Choice C, as written, is not correct.

Quiz 4: Uniform Securities Act USA and State Registration Requirements