BrokerDealer.com blog update profiles what could be a watershed moment for the broker-dealer community: BDs can now ‘recommend’ to clients to buy, sell or hold exchange-traded-funds (ETFs) without having to c0mply with long-established Finra and SEC rules with regard to research.

This story is courtesy of MarketsMuse, the financial industry news curator, with extract below:

MarketsMuse ETF update profiles just-passed-by-Congress legislation that offers a sigh of relief for broker-dealers who aspire to frame ETF recommendations within the context of research (which might qualify them for ‘buyside research votes’), but have held back from issuing a buy, sell or hold recommendation for ETFs out of fear of Finra and/or SEC staffers sanctioning them.

All can guess that those lobbyists engaged by ETF issuers and sell-siders  who focus heavily on ETFs will be getting a hefty bonus in consideration for greasing the wheels and halls of Congress and helping brokerdealers creatively usurp Finra rules and regs when it comes to what is and what is not considered “research.” One group of folks not celebrating: top brass and salesman at Morningstar (read further)

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