States Propose Adding Senior Provisions to List of Unethical Practices for Broker-Dealers, Agents, IAs and IA Reps.

Missouri, Virginia and Washington are among the first states to propose rules prohibiting state-registered broker-dealers, agents, investment advisers and investment adviser representatives from using certain professional designations that state or imply specialized knowledge of the financial needs of senior investors. These rules are being promulgated to combat the abuse the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) is documenting in the senior community now starting to be comprised of the first wave of Post WWII baby boomer retirees. Broker-dealers, agents, investment advisers and investment adviser representatives are holding free lunch seminars with seniors at which they proclaim themselves to have specialized knowledge and credentials for handling the financial needs of senior citizens. Under the proposed rules, the use of "senior designations" by a broker-dealer, agent, investment adviser or investment adviser representative would be a fraudulent, unethical practice. Only those professional designations attained through prescribed training offered by a nationally recognized accredited institution would be approved professional designations by the states' securities regulators.