Introduction

Welcome to Advertising, Correspondence, and Social Media, the unit that covers how broker-dealers, agents, and advisers communicate with the public and the rules that govern those communications.

Exam Weight: Part of 20% (12 questions total for Chapter 6)

What You'll Learn

In this unit, you'll cover:

• FINRA Rule 2210: The three categories of communications (retail, correspondence, institutional), content standards, approval requirements, and filing obligations
• USA Section 403: The Administrator's authority to require filing of sales and advertising literature
• USA Section 405: Why registration never means "approval" and what you cannot say about it
• Performance guarantees: The absolute prohibition on guaranteeing against loss
• Advertising standards: NASAA dishonest practices rules for deceptive advertising and misleading filings
• Social media and digital communications: How FINRA classifies static vs. interactive content online
• Regulation S-P: Privacy of consumer financial information and opt-out rights
• Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI): The four-obligation standard for broker-dealer recommendations to retail customers
• Books and records: SEC Rules 17a-3 and 17a-4 retention requirements

Why This Matters

Communication rules are among the most heavily tested topics on the Series 63. Roughly one in five exam questions comes from Chapter 6, and this unit covers critical distinctions: who must approve which type of communication, when filings are required, and what representations are unlawful. Many exam questions test whether you can correctly classify a communication and identify the corresponding supervisory requirement.

Let's start with FINRA Rule 2210 and the three categories of communications.