YOUR ABILITY
TO FREELY INVEST
MAY BE AT RISK
A radical and unprecedented threat by regulators could affect your right to buy dozens of popular public investments deemed to be “complex.”
You can help stop them.
Under the regulations being considered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), if these public securities are deemed to be “complex”, you may not be able to buy them unless you:
• Pass a regulator-imposed test of your specialized investment knowledge
• Demonstrate a high net worth
• Get special approval from your broker
• Attest to reading certain materials
• Go through “cooling off periods” during which you can’t invest
TELL REGULATORS:
I OPPOSE RESTRICTIONS TO MY RIGHT TO INVEST
It is easy to make your opinion known. Using the form
on the right, send an official comment to regulators
in your own words, telling them you oppose restrictions
on your right to invest in public investments.
YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER MAKING
THE FOLLOWING POINTS IN YOUR STATEMENT IF YOU AGREE:
• You – not regulators – should be able to choose
the public investments that are right for you and your family.
Public investments should be available to all of the public,
not just the privileged.
It is very important that you express your views in your own
words–your comments are more likely to be taken seriously
by FINRA if they reflect your own experience and perspective.
Not only do you have the right to share your views,
but the regulators are required to take your comments into
consideration in deciding whether to move forward.
Thank you for taking action.
LIST OF INVESTMENTS THAT MAY BE AT RISK:
• Target Date Funds
• Non-Traditional Index Funds (Smart Beta + ESG)
• Emerging Market Funds
• High Yield Bond Funds
• Closed-end Funds
• Commodity Funds
• Cryptocurrency Funds
• Unconstrained Bond Funds
• Floating-rate/Leveraged Loan Funds
• Leveraged/Inverse Products
• Interval Funds
• Global Real Estate Funds
• ETNs
• Variable Annuities
• Defined Outcome ETFs
• Volatility-Linked Funds
• Currency Funds
• Funds using cryptocurrency futures
• Non-traded REITs
• Business Development Companies
• Opportunistic and Tactical, Multi-Strategy Funds
• Funds using derivatives for hedging or leverage
• Principal Protected Notes
• Structured Notes
• Asset-Backed Securities
• Funds Selling Short
• Start-up Company (IPO) Funds
• Funds Investing in Unlisted Securities
• Distressed Debt Funds
• Absolute Return Funds
• Finds of Hedge Funds
• Reverse Convertible Notes
• Market-linked CDs
• Range Accrual Notes
• Insurance-Linked Securities
To review FINRA’s notice, visit https://www.finra.org/rules-guidance/notices/22-08.
• You shouldn't have to go through any special process like passing a test before you can invest in public securities.
Explain that you are capable of understanding your
investments and their risks. Tell regulators you do not need
these measures imposed on you.
• Other reasons you think these restrictions on your
right to invest should not be put in place.
• Interval funds
• Global real estate funds
• Opportunistic, tactical, multi-strategy funds
• Funds using derivatives for hedging or leverage
• Funds using cryptocurrency futures
• Defined outcome funds
• Commodity funds
• Exchange-traded notes
• Principal protected notes
• Structured Notes
• Investment trusts investing in cryptocurrency
• Leveraged loan funds
• Currency funds
• Funds selling short
• Start-up company (IPO) funds
• Funds investing in unlisted securities
• Distressed debt funds
• Absolute return funds
• Funds of hedge funds
• Volatility-linked funds
• Non-traded REITs
• Business development companies
• Reverse convertible notes
• Closed-end funds
• Market-linked CDs
• Leveraged and Inverse Funds
• Variable annuities
• Asset-backed securities
• Target date funds
• High yield bond funds
• Non-traditional index funds:
Smart Beta; Quant;
Custom Index; ESG
• Floating-rate loan funds
• Range accrual notes
• Emerging market funds
• Unconstrained bond funds
• Insurance-linked securities