7180 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 10, 2016 / Notices 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(i). 

4 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(1). 

5The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority 

(‘‘FINRA’’) filed changes to the Series 9/10 question 

bank and selection specifications with the SEC on 

December 23, 2015. See Release No. 34–76812 

(December 31, 2015), 81 FR 834 (January 7, 2016) 

(File No. SR–FINRA–2015–058). 

6Section 15B(b)(2)(A)(iii) of the Act, 15 U.S.C. 

78o–4(b)(2)(A)(iii). 

Street NE., Washington, DC. Written 

statements may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Statements 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

submission form (http://www.sec.gov/ 

info/smallbus/acsec.shtml); or 

• Send an email message to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File 

Number 265–27 on the subject line; or 

Paper Statements 

• Send paper statements to Brent J. 

Fields, Federal Advisory Committee 

Management Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

No. 265–27. This file number should be 

included on the subject line if email is 

used. To help us process and review 

your statement more efficiently, please 

use only one method. The Commission 

will post all statements on the Advisory 

Committee’s Web site (http://

www.sec.gov/spotlight/acsecspotlight.shtml). 

Statements also will be available for 

Web site viewing and printing in the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room, 

100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 

20549, on official business days 

between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 

3:00 p.m. All statements received will 

be posted without change; we do not 

edit personal identifying information 

from submissions. You should submit 

only information that you wish to make 

available publicly. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie 

Z. Davis, Senior Special Counsel, at 

(202) 551–3460, Office of Small 

Business Policy, Division of Corporation 

Finance, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549–3628. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 

accordance with Section 10(a) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 

U.S.C.—App. 1, and the regulations 

thereunder, Keith Higgins, Designated 

Federal Officer of the Committee, has 

ordered publication of this notice. 

Dated: February 5, 2016. 

Brent J. Fields, 

Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2016–02658 Filed 2–9–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–77051; File No. SR–MSRB– 

2016–02] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Municipal Securities Rulemaking 

Board; Notice of Filing and Immediate 

Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule 

Change Relating to the Content Outline 

for the Series 9/10 Examination 

Program 

February 4, 2016. 

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’ or ‘‘Exchange Act’’) 1 and Rule 

19b–4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby 

given that on January 22, 2016, the 

Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board 

(the ‘‘MSRB’’ or ‘‘Board’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule 

change as described in Items I, II, and 

III below, which Items have been 

prepared by the MSRB. The MSRB has 

designated the proposed rule change as 

‘‘constituting a stated policy, practice, 

or interpretation with respect to the 

meaning, administration, or 

enforcement of an existing rule’’ under 

Section 19(b)(3)(A)(i) of the Act 3 and 

Rule 19b–4(f)(1) thereunder,4 which 

renders the proposal effective upon 

receipt of this filing by the Commission. 

The Commission is publishing this 

notice to solicit comments on the 

proposed rule change from interested 

persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The MSRB filed with the Commission 

proposed revisions to the content 

outline for the Municipal Securities 

Sales Principal (Series 9/10) 

examination program (the ‘‘proposed 

rule change’’). The MSRB proposes to 

implement the revised Series 9/10 

examination program on March 7, 2016. 

The proposed revisions update the 

material to reflect changes to the laws, 

rules and regulations covered by the 

examination and to incorporate the 

functions and associated tasks currently 

performed by a Municipal Securities 

Sales Principal. In addition, the Board is 

proposing to make changes to the format 

of the content outline. The MSRB is not 

proposing in this filing any textual 

change to its rules.5

The text of the proposed rule change 

is available on the MSRB’s Web site at 

www.msrb.org/Rules-andInterpretations/SEC-Filings/2016- 

Filings.aspx, at the MSRB’s principal 

office, and at the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

MSRB included statements concerning 

the purpose of and basis for the 

proposed rule change and discussed any 

comments it received on the proposed 

rule change. The text of these statements 

may be examined at the places specified 

in Item IV below. The MSRB has 

prepared summaries, set forth in 

Sections A, B, and C below, of the most 

significant aspects of such statements. 

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

1. Purpose 

Background 

The MSRB has established a 

professional qualifications program that 

prescribes standards of training, 

experience, and competency for brokers, 

dealers and municipal securities dealers 

(collectively, ‘‘dealers’’) and their 

associated persons. Section 15B(b)(2)(A) 

of the Act requires associated persons of 

dealers to meet such standards of 

training, experience, competence, and 

such other qualifications as the MSRB 

finds necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest or for the protection of 

investors and municipal entities or 

obligated persons.6 The MSRB has 

developed examinations that are 

designed to establish that persons 

associated with dealers that effect 

transactions in municipal securities and 

municipal advisors who engage in 

municipal advisory activities have 

attained specified levels of competence 

and knowledge. The content outline for 

each examination serves as a guide to 

the subject matter tested on the 

examination and provides learning 

objectives associated with each subject 

matter to assist candidates in preparing 

for each examination. Each content 

outline also provides sample questions 

similar to the type of questions that may 

be found on the examination. The 


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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 10, 2016 / Notices 7181 

7On occasion, this review may be conducted in 

coordination with FINRA or other self-regulatory 

organizations. 

8The General Securities Sales Principal is 

defined in NASD Rule 1022(g). 

arrangement of the subject matter in the 

content outline reflects the various job 

functions typically performed within a 

dealer by an individual with that 

qualification. The MSRB periodically 

reviews the content outline for each 

examination to determine whether 

revisions are necessary or appropriate in 

view of changes pertaining to the 

subject matter covered by the 

examination.7

MSRB Rule G–3(c) defines an 

individual associated with a dealer 

whose supervisory activities with 

respect to municipal securities are 

limited exclusively to supervising sales 

to and purchases from customers of 

municipal securities as a Municipal 

Securities Sales Principal. Pursuant to 

MSRB Rule G–3(c), every Municipal 

Securities Sales Principal is required to 

take and pass the General Securities 

Sales Supervisor Qualification 

Examination prior to acting in such 

capacity.8

In consultation with a committee of 

industry representatives and FINRA, the 

MSRB participated in a review of the 

Series 9/10 examination program. As a 

result of this review, the MSRB is 

proposing to make revisions to the 

content outline to reflect changes to the 

laws, rules and regulations covered by 

the examination and to incorporate the 

functions and associated tasks 

performed by a Municipal Securities 

Sales Principal. 

Current Content Outline 

The current content outline is divided 

into six sections. The following are the 

six sections and the number of 

questions associated with each of the 

sections, denoted Section 1 through 

Section 6: 

1. Hiring, Qualifications, and 

Continuing Education, 9 questions; 

2. Supervision of Accounts and Sales 

Activities, 94 questions; 

3. Conduct of Associated Persons, 14 

questions; 

4. Recordkeeping Requirements, 8 

questions; 

5. Municipal Securities Regulation, 20 

questions; 

6. Options Regulation, 55 questions. 

Each section also includes the 

applicable laws, rules and regulations 

associated with that section. The current 

content outline also includes a preface 

(addressing, among other things, the 

purpose, administration and scoring of 

the examination), sample questions and 

reference materials. 

Proposed Revisions 

The MSRB is proposing to divide the 

content outline into two parts with eight 

major job functions that are performed 

by a Municipal Securities Sales 

Principal. The following are the two 

parts, each with four major job 

functions, denoted as Parts 1 and 2 with 

Function 1 through Function 4, 

respectively, with the associated 

number of questions: 

Part 1: 

Function 1: Supervise Associated 

Persons and Personnel Management 

Activities, 28 questions; 

Function 2: Supervise the Opening 

and Maintenance of Customer Accounts, 

49 questions; 

Function 3: Supervise Sales Practices 

and General Trading Activities, 52 

questions; 

Function 4: Supervise 

Communications with the Public, 16 

questions. 

Part 2: 

Function 1: Supervise the Opening 

and Maintenance of Customer Options 

Accounts, 18 questions; 

Function 2: Supervise Sales Practices 

and General Options Trading Activities, 

19 questions; 

Function 3: Supervise Options 

Communications, 5 questions; 

Function 4: Supervise Associated 

Persons and Personnel Management 

Activities, 13 questions. 

The MSRB is proposing to adjust the 

number of questions assigned to each 

major job function to ensure that the 

overall examination better reflects the 

key tasks performed by a Municipal 

Securities Sales Principal. The 

allocation of questions on the revised 

Series 9/10 examination will place 

greater emphasis on key tasks such as 

supervision of registered persons, sales 

practices and compliance. Each function 

also includes specific tasks describing 

activities associated with performing 

that function. In Part 1, there are five 

tasks (1.1–1.5) associated with Function 

1; four tasks (2.1–2.4) associated with 

Function 2; five tasks (3.1–3.5) 

associated with Function 3; and four 

tasks (4.1–4.4) associated with Function 

4. In Part 2, there are three tasks (1.1– 

1.3) associated with Function 1; four 

tasks (2.1–2.4) associated with Function 

2; three tasks (3.1–3.3) associated with 

Function 3; and one task (4.1) associated 

with Function 4. Further, the content 

outline lists the knowledge required to 

perform each function and associated 

tasks (e.g., types of retail 

communications, required approvals). 

In addition, where applicable, the 

content outline lists the laws, rules and 

regulations a candidate is expected to 

know to perform each function and 

associated tasks. These include the 

applicable MSRB Rules (e.g., MSRB 

Rule G–27(e)). A job analysis study was 

conducted of General Securities Sales 

Supervisors that are qualified with the 

9/10 examination, which included the 

use of a survey, in developing each 

function and associated tasks typically 

performed in the conduct of their 

activity and, as a result, updating the 

required knowledge set forth in the 

revised content outline. The functions 

and associated tasks, which appear in 

the revised content outline for the first 

time, reflect the day-to-day activities of 

a General Securities Sales Supervisor. 

The MSRB is also proposing to revise 

the content outline to reflect changes to 

the laws, rules and regulations covered 

by the examination. Among other 

revisions, certain revisions are being 

made to reflect the adoption of rules in 

the consolidated FINRA rulebook (e.g., 

NASD Rule 2310 (Recommendations to 

Customers (Suitability), NASD Rule 

2212 (Telemarketing) and NASD Rule 

3110 (Books and Records) were adopted 

as FINRA Rule 2111 (Suitability), 

FINRA Rule 3230 (Telemarketing) and 

FINRA Rule 4510 Series (Books and 

Records Requirements), respectively). 

Finally, the MSRB is proposing to 

make changes to the format of the 

content outline, including the preface, 

sample questions and reference 

materials. Proposed changes include: (1) 

Adding a table of contents; (2) providing 

more details regarding the purpose of 

the examination; (3) providing more 

details on the application procedures; 

(4) providing more details on the 

development and maintenance of the 

content outline and examination; (5) 

explaining that the passing scores are 

established by FINRA staff, in 

consultation with a committee of 

industry representatives, using a 

standard setting procedure, and that a 

statistical adjustment process known as 

equating is used in scoring exams; and 

(6) noting that each candidate will 

receive a report at the end of the test 

session that will indicate a pass or fail 

status and include a score profile listing 

the candidate’s performance on each 

major content area covered on the 

examination. The number of questions 

on the Series 9/10 examination will 

remain at 200 multiple-choice questions 

(55 on the Series 9 and 145 on the Series 

10). Candidates will continue to have 90 

minutes to complete the Series 9 

examination and 240 minutes to 

complete the Series 10 examination. 

The passing score for the Series 9 is 70 

percent and the passing score for the 

Series 10 is 70 percent. These are 

unchanged. 


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7182 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 10, 2016 / Notices 

9See www.finra.org/brokerqualifications/exams. 

10 15 U.S.C. 78o–4(b)(2)(A). 

11 Id. 

12 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 13 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(1). 14 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

Availability of the Content Outline 

The revised Series 9/10 content 

outline will replace the current content 

outline on FINRA’s Web site.9

2. Statutory Basis 

The MSRB believes that the proposed 

rule change is consistent with the 

provisions of Section 15B(b)(2)(A) of the 

Act,10 which authorizes the MSRB, in 

part, to prescribe for associated persons 

of dealers ‘‘standards of training, 

experience, competence, and such other 

qualifications as the Board finds 

necessary or appropriate in the public 

interest or for the protection of investors 

and municipal entities or obligated 

persons.’’ 

The MSRB believes that the proposed 

rule change is consistent with the 

provisions of Section 15(B)(b)(2)(A) of 

the Act 11 in that the revisions will 

ensure that certain key concepts and 

rules are tested on the Series 9/10 in 

order to test the competency of 

individuals seeking to qualify as 

Municipal Securities Sales Principals 

with respect to their knowledge of 

MSRB rules and the municipal 

securities market. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The MSRB does not believe that the 

proposed rule change will result in any 

burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. The updated 

Series 9/10 content outline aligns with 

the functions and associated tasks 

currently performed by a Municipal 

Securities Sales Principal and tests 

knowledge of the most current laws, 

rules, and regulations and skills relevant 

to those functions and associated tasks. 

As such, the proposed rule change 

would make the examinations more 

efficient and effective. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

Written comments were neither 

solicited nor received on the proposed 

rule change. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing proposed rule change 

has become effective pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 12 and 

paragraph (f)(1) of Rule 19b–4 

thereunder.13 At any time within 60 

days of the filing of the proposed rule 

change, the Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

MSRB–2016–02 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Secretary, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–MSRB–2016–02. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if email is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for Web site viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549 on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of the MSRB. All comments 

received will be posted without change; 

the Commission does not edit personal 

identifying information from 

submissions. You should submit only 

information that you wish to make 

available publicly. All submissions 

should refer to File Number SR–MSRB– 

2016–02 and should be submitted on 

orbefore March 2, 2016. 

For the Commission, pursuant to delegated 

authority.14

Robert W. Errett, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2016–02604 Filed 2–9–16; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

Interagency Task Force on Veterans 

Small Business Development 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration (SBA). 

ACTION: Interagency Task Force on 

Veterans Small Business Development 

Meeting notice. 

DATES: March 10, 2016, from 9:00 a.m. 

to 12:00 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: SBA Headquarters, 409 3rd 

Street SW., Washington, DC 20416 

Eisenhower Conference Room B, 

Concourse Level. 

Purpose: This public meeting is to 

discuss recommendations identified by 

the Interagency Task Force on Veterans 

Small Business Development (IATF) to 

further enable veteran entrepreneurship 

policy and programs. In addition, the 

Task Force will allow public comments 

regarding the veteran owned small 

business focus areas. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant 

to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C., 

Appendix 2), SBA announces the 

meeting of the IATF. The Task Force is 

established pursuant to Executive Order 

13540 and coordinates efforts of federal 

agencies to improve capital, business 

development opportunities, and preestablished federal contracting goals for 

veteran owned small businesses (VOSB) 

and service-disabled veteran owned 

businesses (SDVOSB). The Task Force 

shall coordinate administrative and 

regulatory activities and develop 

proposals relating to six focus areas: (1) 

Access to capital (loans, surety bonding 

and franchising); (2) Ensure 

achievement of pre-established 

contracting goals, including mentor 

prote ́ge ́ and matching with contracting 

opportunities; (3) Increase the integrity 

of certifications of status as a small 

business; (4) Reducing paperwork and 

administrative burdens in accessing 

business development and 

entrepreneurship opportunities; (5) 

Increasing and improving training and 


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