The NASD has issued proposed guidelines that will require members to clarify policies on gift giving. The proposals, which are open for public comment until Feb. 23, among other things allows many forms of business entertainment, but to keep them that way, a member needs to accompany the client. So tickets to the Super Bowl is OK, as long as you go along. "The overriding principle," the NASD states in a notice to members, is that members "should not do or give anything of value...that would be reasonably judged to have the likely effect of causing [an employee] to act in a manner that is inconsistent with the best interests of the customer."

The good news is that NASD, while requiring firms to develop written policies and practices, has not imposed "hard limits, nor does it require that all member adopt the same limits or even treat all recipients equally." In addition, the NASD is allowing members "to set different standards for business entertainment in connection with events that are educational, charitable or philanthropic in nature."