FINRA cracking down on use of ghostwritten material

Four types of materials are setting off FINRA alarms:

• Hardcover books or pamphlets on investment topics that representatives purchase with their name on the cover.
• Articles that appear to be written by the representative, which, in fact, were written by someone else.
• Interview-style broadcasts, webcasts, or other public appearances in which the representative appears to be interviewed by an independent third party, but in which the questions and answers were pre-scripted.
• Magazines that appear to contain articles written by a representative, but that were actually produced by a vendor. Publishing a representative’s photo in such magazines next to well known financial or public figures is also a FINRA concern.

To stay out of hot water, make sure your third-party content clearly states that it was either prepared by the third party or prepared for your use. Also, make sure that magazine-style interviews are clearly labeled as advertisements.
What “red flags” are affecting your business? The National Ethics Bureau welcomes your input. Send your comments to [email protected].?