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From now on”

The North American Securities Administrators Association recently released its annual enforcement report.  The report is based on a survey of the 50 state members of NASAA.  The states report data based on either the calendar year or their own fiscal year.  Some highlights of the report are:

• Nearly 80% of the 2017 enforcement actions were administrative and just under 7% were civil.  The balance were criminal or classified as “other”.

• The average number of enforcement actions per year for the last five years was approximately 2,160.  For the most recent year, the number was 2,017.

• For the second consecutive year, the states brought more enforcement actions against registered persons in the securities industry (broker-dealers, investment advisers, and their agents and representatives) than against unregistered individuals and firms.

• In the last year, the states reported 36 investigations and enforcement actions involving binary options.  For more on binary options, see Binary Options and Securities Regulation.