ASA Releases Comments to FINRA on Protecting Seniors from Financial Fraud

WASHINGTON – The American Securities Association (ASA) today released a comment letter sent to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) on Regulatory Notice 26-02, offering targeted recommendations to help protect senior investors from financial exploitation and fraud.

“Protecting America’s seniors from fraud demands a regulatory framework that empowers firms to intervene when they see red flags without forcing investors who have done everything right to endure months-long freezes, account holds, or intrusive data collection,” said ASA President and CEO Chris Iacovella. “Our recommendations to FINRA share a common goal: build a modern, risk-based framework that stops sophisticated fraudsters, including those backed by foreign adversaries, while preserving investor autonomy and privacy.”

ASA’s letter supports FINRA’s efforts to expand the use of trusted or emergency contacts, refine temporary hold authorities under Rules 2165 and proposed 2166, and clarify information-sharing pathways, while urging FINRA to limit unnecessary collection of sensitive personal data and to recognize implementation realities for smaller and regional firms that are on the front lines of detecting and interrupting exploitation.

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The American Securities Association (ASA) represents the retail and institutional capital markets interests of regional financial services firms who provide Main Street businesses with access to capital and advise hardworking Americans how to create and preserve wealth. ASA’s mission is to promote trust and confidence among investors, facilitate capital formation, and support efficient and competitively balanced capital markets. This mission advances financial independence, stimulates job creation, and increases prosperity. The ASA has a geographically diverse membership of almost one hundred members that spans the Heartland, Southwest, Southeast, Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States.