Welcome to Books, Records, Privacy and Communications, covering the compliance rules that protect both customers and firms in the securities industry.
Exam Weight: This unit is part of Understanding Trading, Customer Accounts and Prohibited Activities. The full section accounts for 23 scored questions (31% of the exam). The official outline does not assign a separate question count to this unit.
What You'll Learn
- SEC rules governing what records broker-dealers must keep and for how long
- What trade confirmations and account statements must include and when they're sent
- When and how firms can hold a customer's mail
- How firms prepare for emergencies and disruptions with business continuity plans
- Rules that keep customer assets separate and safe from firm assets
- Regulation S-P and the customer's right to opt out of information sharing
- The three categories of firm communications and their principal approval rules
- Restrictions on cold calling and Do-Not-Call registry requirements
- Regulation Best Interest, Form CRS, FINRA suitability, and know your customer (KYC) obligations
Why This Matters
Every topic in this unit addresses a real-world obligation that securities professionals face daily: keeping accurate records, safeguarding personal information, and ensuring recommendations serve the customer's interest. The SIE exam tests your knowledge of specific retention periods, privacy rights, communication categories, and the standards that govern recommendations, all of which are frequently tested.
Let's start with the foundation: what records broker-dealers must create and how long they must keep them.