A proposed FINRA rule requiring financial advisors to post a link to their BrokerCheck information on their websites and social media sites is no longer on the table.
In January, FINRA filed a proposed rule with the Securities and Exchange Commission that would have forced advisors to “include a prominent description and link to FINRA BrokerCheck…on their Web sites, social media pages and any comparable Internet presence,” the proposal said. This would have put a broker’s information, such as their background, complaints and disciplinary actions against them, at the fingertips of clients and prospects. And it comes at a time when social media use is especially challenging for advisors, given the compliance hurdles.
The Financial Services Institute said it led the effort to get the rule withdrawn, saying that it was vague and difficult to implement.
“While FSI greatly values expanding investor knowledge of and use of BrokerCheck, we believe that the proposed rule was vague, highly burdensome and did not appropriately achieve this goal,” said David Bellaire, FSI executive vice president and general counsel.