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The MSRB is making available answers to questions that were raised during its February 6, 2014 webinar on the MSRB's draft rule on core duties of municipal advisors. Read questions and answers on MSRB Draft Rule G-42, on Duties of Non-Solicitor Municipal Advisors and Other Matters.
Municipal advisors and others have until March 10, 2014 to comment on the MSRB's draft Rule G-42, on the duties of advisors when providing advice on municipal securities transactions and related products to their clients. The draft rule seeks to ensure that all municipal advisors adhere to core standards of conduct and that state and local governments have more complete and accurate information regarding the services of municipal advisors. Read the request for comment. Submit a comment.
A presentation from the MSRB's February 6, 2014 educational webinar on draft Rule G-42 is available here.
The MSRB recently requested public comment on proposed supervisory and compliance obligations for municipal advisors when engaging in municipal advisory activities on February 25, 2014. Establishing a supervision rule is a key step in the MSRB’s development of a regulatory framework for municipal advisors. The MSRB’s supervision proposal, draft MSRB Rule G-44, draws on the strengths of analogous supervision rules for other areas of the securities industry but takes into account the diversity of the municipal advisory population, including small or single-person firms. Read the request for comment. Comments on the draft supervision rule should be submitted to the MSRB no later than April 28, 2014. Submit a comment.
The MSRB is hosting an educational webinar on the main aspects of the proposed supervisory and compliance requirements on March 20, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Register for the webinar.
As part of its regulatory framework for municipal advisors, the MSRB is developing a professional qualification test for municipal advisor professionals. The MSRB plans to formally propose that all municipal advisor professionals be required to take the exam to demonstrate a minimum level of competency before providing, or continuing to provide, financial advisory services to state and local governments. The MSRB will survey municipal advisors on their core activities to inform the areas to be tested. It will also prepare a study outline, which must be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The MSRB will soon request comment on a proposal to establish certain key features of the exam with the goal of implementing a pilot exam in late 2014 or early 2015.
The MSRB also plans to seek approval from the SEC to charge municipal advisor firms an annual fee of $300 per professional, to be implemented during the second half of 2014 in parallel with the SEC’s permanent registration process for municipal advisors. The MSRB has been working to establish appropriate and equitable assessments on municipal advisors to fairly distribute assessments across all regulated entities.
As a registered municipal advisor, you may play a role in assisting municipal securities issuers with complying with their obligations to provide timely and complete disclosure to investors through the MSRB’s Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA®) website. The MSRB offers a free tool to help issuers and their financing teams keep track of due dates for recurring financial disclosures. Issuers and agents acting on their behalf can schedule a free email reminder from EMMA to alert up to three recipients when the deadline is approaching for an annual or quarterly financial disclosure filing. Ask your clients to set up and include you in email reminders so you can help ensure compliance with disclosure obligations. Read more about getting started with financial disclosure email reminders. If you have any questions, please call MSRB support at (703) 797-6668.
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