On October 26, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission approved amendments to the FINRA rules governing communications with the public. The amendments revise the filing requirements in FINRA Rule 2210 (Communications with the Public) and Rule 2214 (Requirements for the Use of Investment Analysis Tools) and the content and disclosure requirements in Rule 2213 (Requirements for the Use of Bond Mutual Fund Volatility Ratings). The amended rules will go into effect on January 9, 2017.

Currently, Rule 2210 requires firms to file with FINRA retail communications that contain registered investment company performance information and a copy of any investment company rankings and comparisons included in the retail communications. Under the amended rule, firms will no longer be required to file ranking and comparison backup materials. Additionally, retail communications containing generic investment company information (e.g., materials that do not name specific funds or fund families) will no longer need to be filed with FINRA.

FINRA also has eliminated or reduced filing requirements relating to investment company shareholder reports, investment analysis tool written report templates, and non- predictive updates to narratives in retail communication filings.

Finally, FINRA amended provisions of Rule 2213 relating to bond mutual fund volatility ratings.

FINRA Regulatory Notice 16-41 is available here.