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 National Association of Securities Dealers.
- 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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