The Massachusetts Securities Division is seeking comment on whether to require criminal background checks for advisors registering in the state.
The request for comment, issued by Willam Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, said the state's securities division "believes that it is in the public interest and for the protection of investors to conduct criminal background checks of those individuals seeking IAR registration in order to ensure that the applicant is not subject to a statutory disqualification and has truthfully and accurately disclosed any criminal background required on Form U-4."
Comments are due May 15.
Galvin noted that the division's Registrations, Inspections, Compliance and Examinations Section was recently granted access to utilize the Massachusetts "iCORI system," an electronic criminal history database, in order to conduct these reviews.
Specifically, the division is proposing and requesting comment on amendments that would 1) require that those seeking Massachusetts investment advisor representative registration file as part of their application a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Acknowledgement Form; 2) update filing requirements with respect to Form ADV; and 3) update certain citations and references to forms to address changes that have occurred over time.
