Are you
properly licensed?
The following products or investment opportunities
require compliance with the Securities Act of Montana
and/or the Insurance Code:
- Viaticals - Engaging in viatical transactions
require compliance with the Insurance Code,
which provides for the licensing of viatical
settlement brokers and viatical settlement
providers. The sale of these products also
requires compliance with the anti-fraud
provisions of the Securities Act of Montana.
- Living Trusts - You must be licensed to sell
living trusts in Montana. One of the
requirements to obtaining this license is
registration as an investment adviser or
investment adviser representative, which the
State Auditor’s Office also registers.
- Variable Annuities - You must be licensed
with the Insurance Department to sell
variable annuities, and one of the
requirements to obtaining this license is
passing the Uniform Securities Agent State
Law Exam (Series 63), administered by the
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
- Customer-Owned, Coin-Operated Telephones (COCOTs)
are securities and must be registered as
securities with the securities department.
Individuals selling COCOTs must be registered
as securities sales persons.
Customer-Owned ATMs may be securities,
depending on how the investment opportunity
is structured. Therefore, they must be
registered as securities with the securities
department, and individuals selling them must
be registered as securities sales persons.
- Multi-Level Marketing Companies must file a
form with the Securities Department
indicating they are doing business in
Montana. Unless they are principals of an MLM,
Montana participants do not have to register
with the department. However, you should be
sure your company has complied with the
filing requirement before doing any business.
- Promissory Notes are securities and require
compliance with the Securities Act of
Montana. That means you as a salesperson and
the note itself may need to be registered.
- Private Placement Offerings require
compliance with the Securities Act of
Montana. Many of these offerings use one of
several federal provisions that exempt the
offering from the registration requirement.
Montana recognizes some of these exemptions;
however there may be "notice
filing" requirements and salesperson
registration requirements that must be
followed.
If you offer and sell these products, you are required
to fully disclose all of the potential risks associated
with the investment. The sale of these products requires
compliance with the anti-fraud provisions of the securities
act, even if they’re exempt from registration
requirements.
If you have any questions about compliance with the
securities or insurance laws of Montana, talk to an
attorney or contact your firm’s compliance department.
Also, the State Auditor’s Office can assist with
compliance questions and can be reached at (406) 444-2040.
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