The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has filed a rule change with the Securities and Exchange Commission to increase the gift limit from $100 to $250 per person per year.
The proposal amends FINRA Rule 3220 (Influencing or Rewarding Employees of Others) and also would make a conforming change to the gift limit in Rule 2310 (Direct Participation Programs), Rule 2320 (Variable Contracts of an Insurance Company), Rule 2341 (Investment Company Securities), and Rule 5110 (Corporate Financing Rule – Underwriting Terms and Arrangements).
The plan was filed with the SEC on May 29. The SEC must approve the rule change.
Bob Colby, FINRA's chief legal officer, said at FINRA's annual meeting in Washington in May that the broker-dealer self-regulator wanted to raise the limit "to catch up with inflation."
FINRA also plans to "codify the basic premise" that if a registered person gives a gift to a person that's a client of one of their clients, or an employee of one of their clients, but it's for personal reasons — like a wedding present — and it's paid for by the rep, not the firm, that doesn't come with any limit, Colby said.
The current gift limit has been in place since 1992, when the SEC approved an increase from $50 to $100.
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