We would love to hear from you. Click on the ‘Contact Us’ link to the right and choose your favorite way to reach-out!

wscdsdc

media/speaking contact

Jamie Johnson

business contact

Victoria Peterson

Contact Us

855.ask.wink

Close [x]
pattern

Industry News

Categories

  • Industry Articles (21,155)
  • Industry Conferences (2)
  • Industry Job Openings (35)
  • Moore on the Market (414)
  • Negative Media (144)
  • Positive Media (73)
  • Sheryl's Articles (800)
  • Wink's Articles (353)
  • Wink's Inside Story (274)
  • Wink's Press Releases (123)
  • Blog Archives

  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • August 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • November 2008
  • September 2008
  • May 2008
  • February 2008
  • August 2006
  • Who Must Register As A Municipal Advisor?

    October 8, 2013 by Cyril Tuohy

    A new “registration regime” recently adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate who is qualified to give advice and under what circumstances appears to have more exemptions than the tax code.

    Well, not exactly, but it’s worth pointing out who isn’t required to register as a municipal advisor now that the SEC has adopted rules regarding experts who dispense advice in the $3.7 trillion municipal bond market.

    More than 1,100 municipal advisors have registered with the SEC under Section 975 of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, but many more may not have to. Special interest groups pushed hard to be excluded.

    Who doesn’t have to register? Public officials and employees, underwriters, registered investment advisors, registered commodity trading advisors, attorney, engineers, banks, accountants, independent registered municipal advisors and swap dealers.

    That covers a wide range of professionals who are involved in the municipal securities marketplace.

    There are caveats, of course.

    Public or appointed officials who serve on a governing body, advisory boards, a committee, or as university trustees don’t have to register “to the extent that they are acting within the scope of their official capacity.”

    Supporters of the exemptions such as Sen. Orin Hatch, R-Utah, said it was only fair. For example, how could the government register students and nonvoting ex officio members of the 19-member Utah Board of Regents on the grounds that they would be serving as municipal advisors?

    “Preposterous,” the senator said in testimony to the SEC.

    So there’s an argument to be made for excluding public officials from the registration regime. But underwriters?

    “Brokers, dealers and municipal securities dealers serving as underwriters do not have to register if their advisory activities involve the structure, timing and terms of a particular issue of municipal securities,” the SEC said.

    The exemption does not apply to advice on the investment of proceeds of municipal securities or derivatives since it is outside the scope of underwriting, according to the SEC.

    But registered investment advisors (RIAs), registered commodity trading advisors (RCTAs) and independent registered municipal advisors (IRMAs)? They, too, are exempt.

    Sensitive to the costs and to the benefits of its own rules, the SEC said there’s no reason to require registration of advisors who are already registered by other government or registering bodies.

    RIAs, who are held to a fiduciary standard under the Investment Advisors Act of 1940, don’t have to register as long as they provide “investment advice regarding the investment of the proceeds of municipal securities or municipal escrow investments,” the SEC said.

    “This exemption helps ensure the rule does not create duplicative regulation of investment advisors,” the SEC also said.

    For their part, RCTAs who are regulated by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, don’t have to register if the advice they are dispensing relates to swaps. Similar to RIAs, the SEC wanted to avoid registration duplication with regard to RCTAs.

    IRMAS are also exempt “provided that certain requirements are met and certain disclosures are made,” the SEC said.

    The SEC said that attorneys do not have to register if they are providing “legal advice or “traditional legal services with respect to the issuance of municipal securities or municipal financial products,” the SEC said.

    The exemption does not apply, however, when attorneys offer advice “that is primarily financial in nature” to a municipal client.

    Accountants don’t have to register either if they are providing audit or “attest services, preparation of financial statements, or issuance of letters for underwriters,” the SEC said.

    Nor do engineers if they provide feasibility studies and cash flow analysis “related to engineering aspects of a project,” according to the SEC. But the moment an engineer provides advice regarding financial products, they will have to register.

    Banks? As long as they provide advice on banking products like deposit accounts, credit extensions or bond indenture trustee services, they are exempt, the SEC said. When banks provide advice on municipal derivatives and securities, they will have to register, the SEC said.

    What types of organizations must register?

    Registered companies include blue-chip Wall Street financial services giant Oppenheimer & Co. and JP Morgan Securities, smaller consulting and advisory firms like Harrisburg, Pa.-based Catlin Consulting and Inglewood, Calif.-based Top Capital Advisors Inc., and individual advisors like Houston-based Geraldo Perez, and Norristown, Pa.-based George Allen Majors.

    Exemptions aside, the registration rule represents significant proress, Mary Jo White, chairwoman of the SEC, said in a statement.

    Complex derivatives and other financial transactions leading up to the financial crisis of 2008 left many investors “largely unprotected,” White said. High-profile bankruptcies also pointed to the vulnerability of taxpayers to public officials’ poor decisions.

    “These rules set forth clear, workable requirements and guidance for municipal advisors and other market participants, which will provide needed protections for investors in the municipal securities markets.”

    Cyril Tuohy is a writer based in Pennsylvania. He has covered the financial services industry for more than 15 years. He can be reached at Cyril.Tuohy@innfeedback.com.

    Originally Posted at InsuranceNewsNet.com on October 7, 2013 by Cyril Tuohy.

    Categories: Industry Articles
    currency