The new regulations take effect in February 2013 and change the categories classified for communication purposes from six to three. The categories include Correspondence, Institutional and Retail communications.
Retail - All communications considered available to more than 25 retail investors requiring written approval from a registered principal prior to distribution. All social media content falls into this category due to its ability to reach unlimited viewers. Online forum posting is still considered an exemption from pre-approval and continues to follow the rules of what can or can not be said in a conversation.
Correspondence- Covers any written or electronic communication that is distributed or made available to fewer than 25 retail investors within any 30 day calendar period.
Institutional - Includes written or electronic communications that are distributed or made available only to institutional investors, but does not include a firm's internal communications. To qualify as an Institutional Investor, the NASD Rule 2211(a)(3).4 definition continues to be used.
The recommendation still holds true for archiving social media in preparation for regulatory or audit requests. Just as email archiving became standard practice, so follows social media content archiving.
