The SEC last week approved a Finra rule requiring links to the BrokerCheck disciplinary database be included on the websites of broker-dealers, registered reps and branch offices.
Under the plan, Finra would require a “readily apparent reference” and hyperlink to the BrokerCheck system on a webpage that a brokerage firm or branch office provides for retail investors, and on any other webpage that includes a profile of registered persons. The rule would not apply to firms that don’t serve retail investors.
Unlike an earlier plan floated two years ago, the approved rule would not require BrokerCheck links on third-party social media sites or directories, or include a so-called “deep link” that takes a user directly to the BrokerCheck report of a registered person. Instead, the required link will take investors to the BrokerCheck homepage.
State regulators had been pushing for a deep link.
But “most investors should be able to find information concerning particular members and registered representatives without difficulty given the ease of operation of the BrokerCheck search feature,” the SEC said in its approval order.
Finra will announce an effective date by early December.
The Financial Services Institute had proposed a 12-month window for firms to get ready, but Finra was non-committal in extending its proposed 180-day implementation period.
“FINRA will consider the need for systems and operational changes in establishing an effective date,” Finra said in a letter last month to the SEC.