Lawyers have identified a gray area in a Massachusetts Securities Division proposal banning broker-dealers and investment advisers from designating themselves experts in senior citizen investing. The proposal includes certain exemptions that lawyers said will have to be analyzed and ironed out. The proposed rule exempts from prohibitions only those designations earned through “meaningful educational or training process encompassing sufficient course work examinations, and experience.”
The proposed rule is seen as unique because it prohibits the use of senior credentials. The exemptions, however, recognize the existence of agencies that create legitimate designations, said Christine Bruenn, a former president of the North American Securities Administrators Association. The level of training and education required for approval will have to develop over time, said Bruenn, a partner at Bingham McCutchen in Portland, Maine. According to the proposal, professional designations exempt from prohibitions would have as a minimum accreditation by a nationally recognized independent accrediting organization, such as the National Commission for Certifying Agencies and the National Organization for Competency Assurance.
Michael Unger, also a former NASAA president, suggested the rule list certain standards an accrediting agency may acquire to be exempt from prohibitions. The rule could also cite the standards applied by NCCA and other agencies for them to tell if they meet the criteria. Its reference to the national accreditation agencies makes implementation more difficult, said Unger, partner at Rubin and Rudman in Boston. “The proposal is well-intentioned, but a little more thought might go into the rule itself,” he said.