WAC 460-22B-090   Dishonest and unethical business practices -- Salespersons.  The phrase "dishonest or unethical practices" as used in RCW 21.20.110 (1)(g) as applied to salespersons, is hereby defined to include any of the following:

     (1) Engaging in the practice of lending or borrowing money or securities from a customer, or acting as a custodian for money, securities or an executed stock power of a customer;

     (2) Effecting securities transactions not recorded on the regular books or records of the broker-dealer which the agent represents, unless the transactions are authorized in writing by the broker-dealer prior to execution of the transaction;

     (3) Establishing or maintaining an account containing fictitious information in order to execute transactions which would otherwise be prohibited;

     (4) Sharing directly or indirectly in profits or losses in the account of any customer without the written authorization of the customer and the broker-dealer which the agent represents;

     (5) Dividing or otherwise splitting the agent's commissions, profits or other compensation from the purchase or sale of securities with any person not also registered for the same broker-dealer, or for a broker-dealer under direct or indirect common control;

     (6) Inducing trading in a customer's account which is excessive in size or frequency in view of the financial resources and character of the account;

     (7) Recommending to a customer the purchase, sale or exchange of any security without reasonable grounds to believe that such transaction or recommendation is suitable for the customer based upon reasonable inquiry concerning the customer's investment objectives, financial situation and needs, and any other relevant information known by the broker-dealer;

     (8) Executing a transaction on behalf of a customer without authorization to do so;

     (9) Exercising any discretionary power in effecting a transaction for a customer's account without first obtaining written discretionary authority from the customer, unless the discretionary power relates solely to the time and/or price for the execution of orders;

     (10) Executing any transaction in a margin account without securing from the customer a properly executed written margin agreement promptly after the initial transaction in the account;

     (11) Entering into a transaction with or for a customer at a price not reasonably related to the current market price of the security or receiving an unreasonable commission or profit;

     (12) Failing to furnish to a customer purchasing securities in an offering, no later than the date of confirmation of the transaction, a final or preliminary prospectus, and if the latter, failing to furnish a final prospectus within a reasonable period after the effective date of the offering;

     (13) Effecting any transaction in, or inducing the purchase or sale of, any security by means of any manipulative, deceptive or fraudulent device, practice, plan, program, design or contrivance, which may include but is not limited to:

     (a) Effecting any transaction in a security which involves no change in the beneficial ownership thereof;

     (b) Entering an order or orders for the purchase or sale of any security with the knowledge that an order or orders of substantially the same size, at substantially the same time and substantially the same price, for the sale of any such security, has been or will be entered by or for the same or different parties for the purpose of creating a false or misleading appearance of active trading in the security or a false or misleading appearance with respect to the market for the security;

     (c) Effecting, alone or with one or more other persons, a series of transactions in any security creating actual or apparent active trading in such security or raising or depressing the price of such security, for the purpose of inducing the purchase or sale of such security by others;

     (14) Guaranteeing a customer against loss in any securities account for such customer carried by the broker-dealer or in any securities transaction effected by the broker-dealer with or for such customer;

     (15) Publishing or circulating, or causing to be published or circulated, any notice, circular, advertisement, newspaper article, investment service, or communication of any kind which purports to report any transaction as a purchase or sale of any security unless such broker-dealer believes that such transaction was a bona fide purchase or sale of such security; or which purports to quote the bid price or asked price for any security, unless such broker-dealer believes that such quotation presents a bona fide bid for, or offer of, such security;

     (16) Using any advertising or sales presentation in such a fashion as to be deceptive or misleading. An example of such practice would be a distribution of any nonfactual data, material or presentation based on conjecture, unfounded or unrealistic claims or assertions in any brochure, flyer, or display by words, pictures, graphs or otherwise designed to supplement, detract from, supersede or defeat the purpose or effect of any prospectus or disclosure;

     (17) In connection with the solicitation of a sale or purchase of an OTC non-NASDAQ security, failing to promptly provide the most current prospectus or the most recently filed periodic report filed under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act, when requested to do so by a customer;

     (18) Marking any order ticket or confirmation as unsolicited when in fact the transaction is solicited;

     (19) Failing to comply with any applicable provision of the Conduct Rules of the National Association of Securities Dealers or any applicable fair practice or ethical standard promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission or by a self-regulatory organization approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission;

     (20) Any act or practice enumerated in WAC 460-21B-010; or

     (21) Using any term or abbreviation thereof in a manner that misleadingly states or implies that a person has special expertise, certification, or training in financial planning, including, but not limited to, the misleading use of a senior-specific certification or designation as set forth in WAC 460-25A-020.

     The conduct set forth above is not inclusive. Engaging in other conduct such a forgery, embezzlement, nondisclosure, incomplete disclosure or misstatement of material facts, or manipulative or deceptive practices shall also be grounds for denial, suspension or revocation of registration.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 21.20.450, 21.20.020 (1)(c),21.20.110 (1)(g). 08-14-006, § 460-22B-090, filed 6/19/08, effective 7/20/08. Statutory Authority: RCW 21.20.450 and 21.20.110 (1)(g). 02-19-093, § 460-22B-090, filed 9/17/02, effective 10/18/02. Statutory Authority: RCW 21.20.450(1). 99-12-043, § 460-22B-090, filed 5/26/99, effective 7/9/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 21.20.450. 97-16-050, § 460-22B-090, filed 7/31/97, effective 8/31/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 21.20.070 and 21.20.450. 95-16-026, § 460-22B-090, filed 7/21/95, effective 8/21/95.]