Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, BROKER-DEALERS—FINRA provides update on broad rule review, (Oct 9, 2025)

By Anne Sherry, J.D.

The organization has sought comment on specific rules and, more broadly, on any aspect of its rules.

In a blog post, FINRA’s Robert Colby provided an update on the association’s project to modernize its rules. While FINRA often revisits rules, the organization has opened its entire ruleset to review as one of the pillars of the FINRA Forward initiative. It issued three notices seeking comment earlier this year, including one asking for input on any aspect of its rules. It has also accelerated some rule proposals by holding an off-cycle meeting.

“FINRA cannot just ‘set and forget’ our rules,” Colby wrote, “we must constantly adapt them to changes in our membership and markets.”

In Regulatory Notice 25-04, FINRA announced a broad rule review and invited feedback on what rules or themes it should focus on. This notice also identified as priorities FINRA’s rules on capital formation and rules relating to the modern workplace.

Colby noted that the Regulatory Policy Committee held an off-cycle meeting in July to review and act on four proposals that otherwise would have had to wait until September. These proposals covered outside activities, the gift limit, capital acquisition brokers, and capital formation.

Other projects associated with FINRA Forward involve updating the intraday margin rules, projections of performance, and the Central Registration Depository.

In the blog post, Colby acknowledged that the rule review process can be a challenging and time consuming one, but he also framed it as an opportunity for engagement. Discussion with FINRA member firms and other interested parties “is a defining benefit of America’s model of financial self-regulation,” he said.

RegulatoryActivity: BrokerDealers FINRANews GCNNews