FINRA Wants Brokers Selling Regulation D Private Placements to Take Part in Tougher Due Diligence Process

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is calling on broker-dealers that sell high-risk Regulation D private placements to step up their due diligence efforts, including “pushing and pulling” for information about the financial products. FINRA chief executive and chairman Robert Ketchum says that although granted, levels of due diligence will not be the same for each deal, broker-dealers still need to play an active role when examining a Reg D offering.

Due diligence related to the sale of private placements has become a focus of attention since the Provide Royalties LLC and Medical Capital Holdings Inc. deals collapsed and the Securities and Exchange Commission charged them with fraud. With both deals, many of the broker-dealers that sold them depended on third-party firms to write the due diligence reports about the offerings. Yet, despite not doing any due diligence of their own, these broker-dealers still received a 1% “due-diligence fee” as part of the sale.

Ketchum says that attending a “canned information session” or just reading a document is not enough when part of one’s job is to actively sell or offer advice about private placements. He even suggested that in certain instances, such as when selling gas and oil well partnerships, broker-dealers should visit some of the key production areas.

Regulation D Private Placements
Regulation D Private Placements are usually sold to “accredited” investors” and a limited number of non-accredited investors. In addition to investigating Regulation D private placements before selling them, a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds to believe that the investment is suitable for each customer and that each client fully comprehends the risks involved in investing.

Related Web Resources:
Finra’s Ketchum: B-Ds must ‘push and pull’ for Reg D details, Investment News, June 8, 2011
FINRA Sets Regulatory Guidance for Investigating Private Placements, FINRA, April 20, 2010

More Blog Posts:
Ameriprise to Sell Securities America Even as it Finalizes Securities Settlement with Investors of Medical Capital Holdings and Provident Royalties Private Placements, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 26, 2011
Provident Royalties Faces $485 Million Texas Securities Fraud, Says SEC, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, July 26, 2009
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