Brokers Get Strict Social Networking Rules 50
eldavojohn writes "If you're a broker or work for a brokerage firm then you better think twice before posting content to Facebook and Twitter. It seems the static parts of the pages like your profile must be approved and fall under the watch of FINRA. But a post to Facebook or a tweet might constitute a 'public appearance' representing your firm. Which means that 'firms must supervise these interactive electronic communications under NASD Rule 3010 in a manner reasonably designed to ensure that they do not violate the content requirements of FINRA's communications rules.' It's days like these I'm glad I don't work on Wall Street or have jury duty."
Re:Moronic commentary (Score:3, Interesting)
heya,
Yeah, I'd have to agree, this is a non-story.
I also work for an IB, although not in a client-facing area. Still, I'm not enough of a prat to intentionally start posting privileged info or restricted info on a public forum, or even a private form for that matter.
When we first interned, they told us there were restrictions on the sort of trading we could do on our own (e.g. have to disclose to the bank, must hold for 30 days etc.). A lot of people whined at the time, but look, seriously, you're working full-time for a IB, it's not like you really need to do day-trading on the side to put bread on the table.
For fun, sure, but how the heck do you find time during the day to do any serious trading, on your own account? And you're risking a lot, who's not to say that something you overhear at work won't influence your personal trading decisions, whether subconsciously or not. Or maybe a post-it note you saw on somebody else's desk? A little trading for fun, maybe, but I certainly wouldn't put the house on it, or start leveraging for it. So if I lose, meh, it's just pocket change.
It's the same reason I don't use FB, or put drunken photos of myself on Twitpics (well, fine I don't drink but meh, you get the idea). Civil rights or not, I don't want a Google search for my name by a HR hack to turn up something bad.
Cheers,
Victor
Re:Read the article (Score:2, Interesting)
And it can be added that if you're a stock researcher who happened to be quoted on the news, every man and his dog will ask you "What is a great company to invest in??" and "I bought shares in Lagerfeldt & Grunnmeier Warehouse Consortium 30 years ago and they seem to be worth nothing, should I sell them or what should I do?" Giving any answer at all puts you in the firing line.
Ironically, while this makes life a bitch, it also boosts earnings - because the compliance hoops function as a barrier to entry.
Re:Read the article (Score:1, Interesting)
Web filtering products will be adding features that capture these posts originating from your desktop. If you've signed into your computer, the outbound data is traceable back to you. Someone else used your computer, you say? Good luck with that defence. Yes, I work for one of those companies that make those products, and yes we have specific plans to roll out this functionality in the coming months. Thanks to FINRA, our customers are demanding it.
Re:Read the article (Score:4, Interesting)
Basically, if your e-mail is already subject to draconian regulations and every e-mail message you've ever sent or received has been archived by a third party and someone in your company's (or your broker-dealer's) compliance department regularly reads your e-mail to make sure you haven't said anything you're not supposed to and every once in awhile FINRA auditors come by to make sure the compliance department is really reviewing your e-mail like they say they are, and now your company wants to start using Twitter for business communications, you can expect the same level of scrutiny of your tweets that you've come to enjoy with your e-mail.
If none of the above applies to you, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
Also, since all that e-mail compliance stuff only applies to business e-mail and not personal e-mail, the same should be true of Twitter. Keep your personal Twitter account separate from your business Twitter account, just like you do with your personal and business e-mail accounts, and everything is fine.
Re:Exactly backwards (Score:5, Interesting)
Didn't read the article, but the industry has very specific rules about what you can tell a client. Basically, you can never guarantee something will make money. Firms have to be able to produce 7 years of correspondence from a broker on demand. This meant that as an employee of a firm, while at work I was not able to use any communication channel not controlled by the firm (due to archive reasons). This meant no web mail, twitter, Facebook, anything. From what I see, FINRA is just pointing out that even though technology has changed, these rules have not.