Series 99 cheat sheet

Settlement: most U.S. securities transactions settle T+1 - payment and delivery must be completed on the first business day after the trade date.

Rule 15c3-3 (Customer Protection Rule): a firm must segregate customer fully paid and excess margin securities and hold customer cash in a special reserve bank account computed from the reserve formula, generally weekly.

Rule 15c3-1 minimum net capital: $250,000 for a firm that carries customer accounts or holds customer funds or securities; $5,000 for a firm that does neither.

Trade reporting deadlines: corporate bonds (TRACE) within 15 minutes of execution; municipal bonds (MSRB RTRS) within 15 minutes; equity trades to a FINRA trade reporting facility as soon as practicable - 10 seconds electronic, 60 seconds manual.

Reg SHO Rule 203(b): a short sale cannot be executed unless the firm has borrowed or arranged to borrow the security or has reasonable grounds to believe it can be borrowed (the 'locate').

Reg SHO close-out: for threshold securities, a fail to deliver outstanding 13 consecutive settlement days must be closed out by the next settlement day, and short sales in that security are prohibited until closed.

Margin math: Regulation T initial margin 50% of purchase price; FINRA Rule 4210 maintenance 25% of long market value and 30% of short market value; pattern day trader requires $25,000 minimum equity and permits up to 4x day-trading buying power.

Recordkeeping: Rule 17a-4 requires retention of books and records for six years, with the first two years in an easily accessible place and electronic records in non-rewritable, non-erasable format.

SIPC protects each customer account up to $500,000, of which no more than $250,000 may be cash; market losses and non-conforming assets are not covered.

FINRA Rule 2010 requires members to observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade; Rule 2020 separately prohibits manipulative or deceptive devices.

Regulation Best Interest obligations owed to retail customers: Disclosure, Care, Conflict of Interest, and Compliance - triggered by a recommendation of a securities transaction or investment strategy.

Suitability Rule 2111 has three prongs: reasonable-basis, customer-specific, and quantitative; quantitative suitability applies when the member controls the customer's account.

Gift limit Rule 3220: no more than $100 per year per recipient in connection with the recipient employer's business, absent the member's written approval and recordkeeping.

Outside activities: Rule 3270 requires written notice before accepting outside employment or compensation; Rule 3280 requires written notice and approval before participating in a private securities transaction (selling away), with compensation disclosed.

Customer lending: Rule 3240 bars borrowing from or lending to customers unless the firm's written procedures permit it, the customer is a financial institution or affiliate, or a pre-approved arrangement on business terms exists.

AML reporting: file a SAR within 30 calendar days of detecting suspicious activity of at least $5,000 and never tell the customer; a CTR is required for currency transactions exceeding $10,000 in one business day.

Senior investor protection: Rule 4512 requires reasonable efforts to obtain a trusted contact person; Rule 2165 permits a temporary hold on disbursements for 15 business days, extendable by 10.

Supervision Rule 3110: written supervisory procedures, a designated principal, an annual compliance meeting, and inspections - at least annually for offices of supervisory jurisdiction and every three years for other branch offices.