Question

There are two FINRA continuing education elements required, the Regulatory Element and the Firm Element. Which of the following statements is the most applicable regarding the continuing education requirements:

a. The registered individual is responsible for the maintaining his/her own regulatory element of the continuing education requirement; the firm is responsible only for the firm element of the continuing education.
b. The firm element requires that the broker-dealer ensure all registered persons with direct customer contact, and their immediate supervisors, receive relevant industry, compliance, and product issues training on an annual basis.
c. A bank who hires licensed and registered individual may 'park' their license with their affiliated broker-dealer so that the individual does not lose their licensed status, provided that the individual completes their ongoing required regulatory element and attends the annual firm element training provided by the affiliate.
d. A registered representative who does not complete their required regulatory element training within the required 120-day timeframe is not 'administratively terminated' as a registered representative, and may continue to solicit business during that time.

Answer 1

Statement b correctly identifies that the firm is responsible for ensuring its registered employees complete the firm element of their continuing education, focusing on industry, compliance, and product issues training annually. Statements a, c, and d are either misleading or incorrect in the context of FINRA continuing education requirements.

Step-by-step explanation:

The most applicable statement regarding the FINRA continuing education requirements is statement b: The firm element requires that the broker-dealer ensure all registered persons with direct customer contact, and their immediate supervisors, receive relevant industry, compliance, and product issues training on an annual basis. This statement is accurate as it details the responsibility of the broker-dealer in ensuring that registered individuals receive the necessary firm element training on key topics. On the other hand, each registered individual is responsible for completing the regulatory element of their continuing education, but statement a could be misleading if it implies that firms have no role in facilitating or tracking this requirement. Statement c is incorrect in the context as 'parking' a license is generally not permitted by FINRA. Statement d is also incorrect because if a registered representative fails to complete their regulatory element within the prescribed timeframe, they are considered 'inactive' until the requirement is fulfilled, and cannot conduct business.