Study guide
4.4 Correspondence and Internal Communications, Social Media, Public Appearances, and Telemarketing
Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Principal Series 26
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1 Chapter 1: Registration of the Broker-Dealer and Its Associated Persons
1.1 Broker-Dealer Registration, FINRA Membership, and Firm Filings 1.2 Individual Registration: Forms U4 and U5, Registration Categories, and Exempt Persons 1.3 Pre-Hire Screening, Fingerprinting, and Statutory Disqualification 1.4 Heightened Supervision, Interim Plans, and the Taping Rule 1.5 Broker-Dealers, Investment Advisers, Dual Registrants, and Unregistered Entities
2 Chapter 2: Training, Continuing Education, and Product Knowledge
2.1 Continuing Education (Rule 1240), the Maintaining Qualifications Program, and the Annual Compliance Meeting 2.2 The Investment Company Act of 1940: Classifications, Registration, and Fund Governance 2.3 Mutual Fund Pricing, Redemption, Exchanges, Sales Charges, and Share Classes 2.4 Variable Annuities and Variable Life Insurance: Structure, Charges, and Rule 2320 2.5 Closed-End and Interval Funds, UITs, Money Market Funds, 529 Plans, and Investment Risks
3 Chapter 3: Supervisory System, Conduct Standards, Insider Trading, and Discipline
3.1 The Supervisory System, Written Supervisory Procedures, and Standards of Conduct 3.2 Insider Trading, Information Barriers, and Personal Trading Supervision 3.3 FINRA Investigations, Disciplinary Proceedings, Sanctions, and Exemptions
4 Chapter 4: Communications with the Public
4.1 Communications Categories, Principal Approval, Filing, and Recordkeeping (Rule 2210) 4.2 Content Standards, Investment Company Advertising, and Professional Designations 4.3 Variable Contract Communications, Fund Rankings, Bond Fund Volatility Ratings, and Investment Analysis Tools 4.4 Correspondence and Internal Communications, Social Media, Public Appearances, and Telemarketing
5 Chapter 5: Recommendations, Customer Accounts, and Product Sales Supervision
5.1 Regulation Best Interest, Conflicts, and Form CRS 5.2 Know Your Customer, FINRA Suitability, and Institutional Accounts 5.3 New Accounts, Customer Authority, Discretion, and Order Handling 5.4 Mutual Fund Breakpoints, Share Classes, and Switching Supervision 5.5 Deferred Variable Annuities and the Seven-Business-Day Principal Review 5.6 Prospectuses, Summary Prospectuses, SAIs, and Ongoing Disclosures
6 Chapter 6: Compensation, Outside Activities, and Personal Conduct
6.1 Cash Compensation, Distribution Arrangements, and Conflicts 6.2 Gifts, Gratuities, and Business Entertainment (Rule 3220) 6.3 Training Meetings, Sales Contests, and Non-Cash Compensation 6.4 Referral Payments, Bank Networking, and Unregistered Persons 6.5 Outside Business Activities, Private Securities Transactions, and Rule 3290 Transition 6.6 Outside Accounts, Borrowing and Lending, Account Sharing, and Guarantees
7 Chapter 7: Customer Account Operations, Transfers, and Privacy
7.1 Account Records, Trusted Contacts, Confirmations, and Statements 7.2 Cash Accounts, T+1 Settlement, Regulation T, Extensions, and Freeriding 7.3 ACATS Transfers, Transfer-on-Death Accounts, and Account Changes 7.4 Regulation S-P, Incident Response, Service Providers, and Identity Theft
8 Chapter 8: Anti-Money Laundering, Customer Identification, and Sanctions
8.1 AML Program, Independent Testing, Training, and Governance 8.2 Customer Identification, Due Diligence, and Beneficial Ownership 8.3 SARs, CTRs, OFAC, Information Sharing, and AML Red Flags
9 Chapter 9: Supervisory Controls, Business Continuity, and Regulatory Reporting
9.1 Supervisory Controls, Annual Testing, and CEO Certification 9.2 Business Continuity, Systems Resilience, Cybersecurity, and Vendors 9.3 Rule 4530, FOCUS and Annual Reports, and Customer-Asset Events
10 Chapter 10: Office Classifications, Inspections, and Records
10.1 OSJs, Branches, RSLs, and Inspection Cycles 10.2 Inspection Reports, Independent Review, Signage, and Office Files 10.3 Broker-Dealer Books and Records, Electronic Storage, and Correspondence
11 Chapter 11: Complaints, Arbitration, Mediation, and Expungement
11.1 Customer Complaints, Investigation, Retention, and Reporting 11.2 Predispute Agreements, Arbitration Codes, Eligibility, Panels, and Awards 11.3 Mediation and Customer-Dispute Expungement
12 Chapter 12: Financial Responsibility, Membership Changes, and Investor Protection
12.1 Net Capital, Minimum Tiers, Haircuts, and Early Warning 12.2 Customer Protection, Possession or Control, Reserve Formula, and Exemptions 12.3 New-Product Review and Continuing Membership Applications 12.4 SIPC, Fidelity Bonds, Proxy Materials, and Financial Reports
4.4 Correspondence and Internal Communications, Social Media, Public Appearances, and Telemarketing
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
Rule 3110(b)(4) requires a registered principal to review incoming and outgoing correspondence and internal communications that may involve complaints, funds and securities, instructions, or other subjects requiring review, and to evidence the review in writing or electronically.
Evidence of review must identify the reviewer, the communication, the review date and any action taken; merely opening a communication is not a review (Rule 3110.07).
In a public appearance, an associated person must follow Rule 2210's fair and balanced standards, and any scripts, slides or handouts are communications subject to Rule 2210.
Rule 3230 bars telemarketing calls to a residence before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the called party's local time, and requires firms to use a national do-not-call registry version obtained no more than 31 days before the call.
A firm-specific do-not-call request must be recorded when made and honored within a reasonable time not exceeding 30 days, and it ends the established business relationship exception for that member.
Last updated: September 2026
Reviewing Correspondence and Internal Communications (Rule 3110(b)(4))
The firm's procedures must provide for review of incoming and outgoing written (including electronic) correspondence and internal communications relating to its securities business. The review must be appropriate to the firm's business, size, structure and customers. At a minimum, it must identify and handle:
- customer complaints , including complaints in emails and messages (Section 11.1);
- instructions such as orders and address changes;
- communications involving funds and securities ; and
communications on subjects that FINRA rules or the securities laws require be reviewed , such as recommendations and possible insider trading.
Reviews must be performed by a registered principal and evidenced in writing , on paper or electronically.
Risk-based review (Rule 3110.06). Firms decide by risk which other correspondence needs review. If correspondence is not pre-reviewed, the firm must provide for:
- training of associated persons on its correspondence procedures;
- documentation of that training; and
surveillance and follow-up to confirm the procedures are followed.
Evidence of review (Rule 3110.07). The record must identify the reviewer , the communication reviewed , the date of review , and actions taken on any significant regulatory issue. Merely opening a communication is not a review.
Delegation (Rule 3110.08). A principal may delegate review functions to unregistered persons, such as lexicon-screening staff, but remains ultimately responsible and must take reasonable steps to ensure the delegated functions are performed.
Retention (Rule 3110.09). Correspondence and internal communications must be kept for the period in SEC Rule 17a-4(b) , which is three years, the first two in an easily accessible place. The records must show who prepared and who reviewed outgoing correspondence.
Electronic and Social Media Communications
Off-channel communications. Business conversations on texting or messaging apps that the firm does not capture and archive violate recordkeeping rules. Beginning in late 2021, the SEC brought a series of large enforcement cases over business messaging on personal devices. Firms must either capture such channels or prohibit and police their business use.
Social media. Static content, such as profile pages or posted articles, is generally a retail communication requiring principal approval if it promotes products. Real-time interactive posts are supervised like correspondence (Rule 2210(b)(1)(D)). FINRA guidance treats a firm as responsible for third-party content it has adopted , for example by endorsing or sharing it, or become entangled with, for example by helping prepare it.
Recordkeeping. All business communications must be kept in compliant electronic storage under Rule 17a-4(f) (Section 10.3).
Public Appearances (Rule 2210(f))
A public appearance is an unscripted seminar, forum, radio or television interview, or other speaking activity that is not itself a retail communication, correspondence or institutional communication. In it:
associated persons must follow the general standards of Rule 2210(d)(1) : fair, balanced and not misleading, with no projections;
a person who recommends a security must have a reasonable basis and disclose any financial interest in the issuer's securities and any other actual, material conflict of interest . For investment company securities and variable insurance products , only the reasonable-basis requirement applies;
scripts, slides, handouts and invitations are communications subject to Rule 2210 according to their audience. A seminar invitation mailed to 500 people is a retail communication needing principal approval; and
the firm must have written procedures for supervising public appearances, including training , documentation and surveillance and follow-up .
Free-lunch seminars aimed at retirees draw particular regulatory attention. Principals should review the invitations, slides and speaker's scripts, and the follow-up recommendations, for balance and for any implication of guaranteed income.
Telemarketing (Rule 3230)
Rule 3230 parallels the FTC and FCC telemarketing rules and also covers calls to wireless numbers . No member or associated person may initiate an outbound call to:
a residence before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the called party's local time , unless there is an established business relationship , the person's prior express invitation or permission, or the person called is a broker or dealer;
a person who asked to be on the firm-specific do-not-call list ; or
a number on the FTC's national do-not-call registry , unless an exception applies.
National registry exceptions are an established business relationship (EBR) , the person's prior express written consent (a signed agreement that includes the number), and a personal relationship between the caller and the person called (family, friend or acquaintance). Under Rule 3230(m)(12), an EBR exists if the person:
made a transaction, or had a security position, money balance or account activity, with the member (or its clearing firm) within the past 18 months ;
had an account for which the member was broker-dealer of record within the past 18 months ; or
inquired about a product or service within the past three months .
A request to be placed on the firm's do-not-call list ends the EBR exception for that member.
Procedures and safe harbor. Firms must keep a written do-not-call policy, train telemarketing personnel, record do-not-call requests at the time they are made , and honor them within a reasonable time not exceeding 30 days . To use the safe harbor for an inadvertent call to a registered number, the firm must show written procedures, training, a recorded do-not-call list, and use of a registry version obtained no more than 31 days before the call.
Disclosures and caller ID. The caller must promptly give the caller's name, the member's name, a telephone number or address for the member, and that the call's purpose is to solicit the purchase of securities or related services . Firms must transmit caller ID and may not block it. The number shown must allow do-not-call requests during business hours.
Other provisions limit abandoned calls : a call counts as abandoned if a representative is not connected within two seconds of the greeting, and the safe harbor allows no more than 3% per campaign. They also restrict prerecorded messages without express written agreement. A member that outsources telemarketing remains responsible for compliance.