69W-600.0024. Application for Registration as an Associated Person (Investment Adviser and Federal Covered Advisor)

(1) New Applications.

(a) Applicants for registration as an associated person of investment advisers and federal covered advisers shall file the Uniform Application for Securities Industry Registration or Transfer (Form U4) electronically through the Central Registration Depository (CRD) of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) as prescribed by the Financial Services Commission (Commission). The application shall include all information required by such form, any other information the Office of Financial Regulation (Office) may require, and payment of the statutory fees required by Section 517.12(9), F.S. The application shall be deemed received by the Office on the date designated in the “Status Date” field on the line notated “FL” with a “Registration Status” of “pending” as indicated on the CRD “Registrations with Current Employers” screen. Every application or amendment filed pursuant to this rule shall constitute a “written application” within the meaning of Section 517.12(5), F.S.

(b) An application shall include the following:

1. Form U4 (05/2009). A sample form is hereby incorporated by reference and available at http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12573.

2. Statutory fee, for each application, in the amount as required by Section 517.12(9), F.S.

3. Persons requesting a fee waiver as set forth in Section 517.12(9), F.S., shall submit Office of Financial Regulation Active Military Member/Veteran/Spouse Fee Waiver and Military Service Verification, Form OFR-MIL-001, effective 09/2018. A sample form is hereby incorporated by reference and available at http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-09913. Form OFR-MIL-001 shall be submitted within one hundred eighty (180) days after receipt of the application.

4. Evidence of examinations/qualifications set forth in subsection (6) of this rule.

5. Fingerprints shall be submitted in accordance with Section 517.12(6), F.S., and subsection (7) of this rule.

(2) Request for Additional Information. All information required by subsection (1) of this rule shall be submitted with the original application filing. Any request for additional documents or information shall be made by the Office within thirty (30) days after receipt of the application. Additional information shall be submitted directly with the Office within sixty (60) days after a request has been made by the Office. The Office shall grant a request for an additional thirty (30) days to submit the additional information. The Office shall not grant a request after the original sixty (60) day deadline has passed. Failure to provide timely all additional information shall result in the application being deemed abandoned, which shall result in the application being removed from further consideration by the Office and closed.

(3) Amendment of Application. If the information contained in any Form U4 becomes inaccurate for any reason before or after the associated person becomes registered, the associated person through the investment adviser or federal covered adviser shall be responsible for correcting the inaccurate information within thirty (30) days. If the information being updated relates to the applicant’s or registrant’s disciplinary history, in addition to updating the Form U4, the associated person through the investment adviser or federal covered adviser shall also provide the Office with notice and copies of each civil, criminal or administrative action initiated against the associated person as provided in subsection (10) of this rule. Associated persons shall file such amendments through the CRD system.

(4) Multiple Registration.

(a) An applicant for registration as an associated person may apply to be registered as an associated person of more than one dealer, federal covered adviser or investment adviser, or any combination thereof, by the filing of separate applications by each registered dealer, federal covered adviser or investment adviser, and payment of separate application fees as required.

(b) A person registered with the Office as an associated person under this rule shall not be required to register as an associated person of any other investment adviser or federal covered adviser on whose behalf such person solicits, refers, offers or negotiates advisory services, provided each of the following conditions are met:

1. All compensation received by the associated person is paid by the investment adviser or federal covered adviser with which the associated person is registered;

2. All customer funds and securities are maintained by a dealer, investment adviser, federal covered adviser, or clearing dealer;

3. The investment adviser or federal covered adviser shall ensure that all associated persons comply with the provisions of Chapter 517, F.S., and the administrative rules promulgated thereunder; and,

4. Each investment adviser must be registered or federal covered adviser notice filed with the Office and the associated person’s advisory services must be approved by the investment adviser or federal covered adviser the associated person is registered with prior to any services being recommended.

(5) Alternate Business Name.

(a) It is prohibited for any associated person to conduct investment advisory business in this state under any name other than that of the investment adviser or federal covered adviser with which the associated person is registered unless each of the following conditions is met:

1. The business conducted does not violate or evade any provision of Chapter 517, F.S.;

2. The business conducted does not fall within the definition of “dealer” or “investment adviser” as used in Chapter 517, F.S.; and,

3. The investment adviser or federal covered adviser with which the associated person is registered has received written notice of the name under which business shall be conducted.

(6) Examinations/Qualifications.

(a) Every applicant for registration shall execute and submit a statement attesting to said applicant’s knowledge and review of the Florida Securities and Investor Protection Act, as contained in the Form U4.

(b) Every applicant for registration shall provide the Office with one of the following:

1. Proof of passing, within two years of the date of application for registration, the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination (Series 65); or

2. Proof of passing, within two years of the date of application for registration, the General Securities Representative Examination (Series 7), the Uniform Combined State Law Examination (Series 66), and proof of passing within four years of the date of application for registration, the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Examination. The following applicants will be considered to have passed the SIE Examination:

a. Applicants whose registration as an associated person was terminated between October 1, 2014, and September 30, 2018, provided they re-register as an associated person within four years from the date of their last registration;

b. Applicants who registered as an associated person prior to October 1, 2018, and who continue to maintain those registrations on or after October 1, 2018.

(c) Applicants who meet one of the following conditions satisfy the examination requirements of paragraph (6)(b) of this rule, except the Office may require additional examinations for any applicants found to have violated any state or federal securities law:

1.a. Applicants who passed either the Series 65 examination or both the Series 7 and Series 66 examinations; and

b. Have not had a lapse in registration as an associated person of an investment adviser or federal covered adviser in any jurisdiction in the United States for a period exceeding two years.

c. Periods of time during which an applicant provides advisory services for compensation on behalf of a dealer, a federal covered adviser, or an investment adviser, in any jurisdiction in the United States that does not require such persons to register as an associated person of the dealer, federal covered adviser, or investment adviser on whose behalf such advisory services were performed, will not be considered a lapse in registration for purposes of this paragraph.  

2.a. Applicants who were previously registered with the Office as an associated person of an investment adviser or federal covered adviser; and

b. Have not had a lapse in registration as an associated person of an investment adviser or federal covered adviser in any jurisdiction in the United States for a period exceeding two years.

(d) Grandfathering Provision: The examination requirements of paragraph (6)(b) of this rule shall not apply to applicants who were registered as an associated person of an investment adviser or a federal covered adviser in any jurisdiction in the United States pursuant to a transition request submitted prior to January 1, 2005, and who have not had a lapse in registration as an associated person of an investment adviser or federal covered adviser in any jurisdiction in the United States for a period exceeding two years. The Office may require additional examinations for any applicant found to have violated any state or federal securities law.

(e) Examination Validity Extension Program: Notwithstanding paragraph (b), an associated person who terminates their registration as an associated person of an investment adviser may maintain the validity of their Series 65 or the investment adviser representative portion of the Series 66, as applicable, without being employed by or associated with an investment adviser or federal covered adviser for a maximum of five years following the termination of the effectiveness of the associated person’s registration if the individual meets all of the following:

1. The individual previously took and passed the examination for which they seek to maintain validity under this paragraph;

2. The individual was registered as an associated person of an investment adviser or federal covered adviser for at least one year immediately preceding the termination of the associated person’s registration with an investment adviser or federal covered adviser;

3. The individual was not subject to a statutory disqualification as defined in Section 3(a)(39) of the Exchange Act (15 U.S.C. §78c(a)(39)), which is incorporated by reference in Rule 69W-600.002, F.A.C., while registered as an associated person of an investment adviser or federal covered adviser or at any period after termination of such registration;

4. The individual elects to participate in the Exam Validity Extension Program (“EVEP”)  under this paragraph within two years from the effective date of the termination of the associated person’s registration with an investment adviser or federal covered adviser;

5. The individual does not have a deficiency under s. 517.1214, F.S., at the time the associated person’s registration becomes ineffective;

6.a. The individual maintains annual compliance with s. 517.1214, F.S.

b. An individual who complies with the FINRA Maintaining Qualification Program

under FINRA Rule 1240(c) shall be considered in compliance with Section 517.1214(2)(b), F.S. 

(f) The examination requirement for associated persons of an investment adviser or federal covered adviser shall not apply to an applicant who currently holds one of the following professional designations:

1. Certified Financial Planner (TM) or CFP® awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.;

2. Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) awarded by the American College, Bryn Mawr, PA;

3. Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) awarded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants;

4. Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) awarded by the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts; or

5. Chartered Investment Counselor (CIC) awarded by the Investment Counsel Association of America, Inc.

(7) Fingerprint Requirements.

(a) Fingerprints filed in accordance with Section 517.12(6), F.S., shall be submitted to the Office through a live scan vendor approved by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and published on FDLE’s website for submission to FDLE and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for a state criminal background check and a federal criminal background check. The cost of fingerprint processing shall be borne by the applicant and paid directly to the live scan vendor.

(b) The requirement to submit fingerprints is waived for those associated persons pending registration in Florida with a FINRA member firm and such fingerprints have been submitted and processed by FINRA on behalf of the member firm with which said associated person is pending registration, pursuant to the provisions of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule 17f-2 (17 C.F.R. §240.17f-2), which is incorporated by reference in Rule 69W-200.002, F.A.C.

(8) Renewal Requirement.

(a) Renewal fees for associated persons shall be submitted by the firm through the CRD by December 31 of the year the registration expires as required by Section 517.12(10), F.S.

(b) Failure of the firm to submit the requisite amount of fees by December 31 of the year of expiration of the registration shall result in such registration not being renewed. If December 31 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday pursuant to Section 110.117, F.S., the renewals received on the next business day shall be considered timely received. However, an expired registration may be reinstated in accordance with the provisions of Section 517.12(10), F.S., provided that all requisite information and fees are date stamped by the cashier’s office of the Department of Financial Services on or before January 31 of the year following the year of expiration. Failure to submit the requisite amount of fees necessary to reinstate registration by January 31 of the year following the year of expiration shall result in such registration not being reinstated. If January 31 falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday pursuant to Section 110.117, F.S., the reinstatement received on the next business day shall be considered timely received. In the event that the renewal or reinstatement is withdrawn or not granted, any fees filed to renew or reinstate registration shall become the revenue of the state pursuant to Section 517.12(9), F.S., and shall not be returnable.

(c) Persons requesting a fee waiver as set forth in Section 517.12(10) F.S., shall submit Office of Financial Regulation Active Military Member/Veteran/Spouse Fee Waiver and Military Service Verification, Form OFR-MIL-001, effective 09/2018. A sample form is hereby incorporated by reference and available at http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-09913. Form OFR-MIL-001 shall be submitted within one hundred eighty (180) days after receipt of the renewal fees.

(9) Termination of Registration of Principal or Associated Person.

(a) Where a registrant withdraws, cancels, or otherwise terminates registration or is terminated for any reason, notice of such fact shall be filed with the Office within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of termination by electronically filing a Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration (Form U5) (05/2009) with the Office through the CRD. A sample form is hereby incorporated by reference and is available at http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-12575.

(b) The Office may deny any request to terminate or withdraw any application or registration as provided under Section 517.161(5), F.S.

(10) Notice of Civil, Criminal or Administrative Action. An associated person shall:

(a) Notify the Office within thirty (30) calendar days of the date a complaint is served, of any civil, criminal or administrative charges filed that directly or indirectly relate to the registration or sale of securities, or which directly or indirectly relate to activities as a principal or associated person, or any other activity in which a breach of a fiduciary trust is alleged. This shall not include minor traffic violations; but shall include any notification of investigation by any recognized regulatory agency; and

(b) Notify the Office within thirty (30) calendar days of the date of decision, order, or sanction rendered, or any appeal filed with respect to such decision with regard to any complaint outlined in paragraph (10)(a).

(c) Such notifications shall be filed with the Office through the CRD system in accordance with subsection (3) of this rule. When specifically requested by the Office, one (1) copy of such complaint, answer or reply to any complaint, decision, order, or sanction shall be filed directly with the Office. Responses to requests by the Office for additional information shall be filed directly with the Office.

Rulemaking Authority 517.03(1), 517.12, 517.121(1) FS. Law Implemented 517.12 FS. History–New 12-29-15, Amended 9-25-18, 11-26-19, 1-18-21, 2-14-23, 3-21-24.