MSRB Files Rule Change with SEC for Continuing Education Requirements for Municipal Securities Dealers

Today, the MSRB filed a rule change with the Securities and Exchange Commission to require that dealers provide Firm Element continuing education annually on municipal securities for registered representatives and principals who regularly engage in or supervise, respectively, municipal securities activities. While the MSRB has intended, from the inception of MSRB Rule G-3, that dealers consider the scope of their municipal securities activities and regulatory developments in preparing their annual training plan, the changes filed today to MSRB Rule G-3(h)(ii) would require training for a select group of registered persons who are regularly engaged in or supervise municipal securities activities.

The MSRB’s original rule proposal to improve the Firm Element continuing education requirement of MSRB Rule G-3(h)(ii) proposed a one-hour Firm Element continuing education requirement for all associated persons of dealers who are primarily engaged in municipal securities activities. After carefully considering the views of the commenters and the objectives of the proposal, the MSRB eliminated the proposed one-hour requirement and narrowed the required participants to registered representatives and principals who are regularly engaged in or supervise municipal securities activities.

One of the core objectives of the proposed rule change is to ensure that registered individuals regularly engaged in municipal securities activities and those who supervise such activities take part in municipal securities continuing education annually. The MSRB believes that the draft rule change can achieve the objective of targeted training for those registered individuals who are most active in the municipal securities market without setting time parameters for the training.

Read a press release about the rule filing.