Section 130. Examination/qualification

A. An individual applying for registration as an investment advisor representative shall be required to provide evidence of passing within the two-year period immediately preceding the date of the application (i) the Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination, Series 65; (ii) the Uniform Combined State Law Examination, Series 66 and the General Securities Representative Examination, Series 7; or (iii) a similar examination in general use by securities administrators which, after reasonable notice and subject to review by the commission, the Director of the Division of Securities and Retail Franchising designates.

B. Any individual who meets the qualifications set forth in subsection A of this section and is registered as an investment advisor or investment advisor representative in any state jurisdiction requiring registration within the two-year period immediately preceding the date of the filing of an application shall not be required to satisfy the examination requirements set forth in subsection A of this section, except that the commission may require additional examinations for any individual found to have violated any federal or state securities laws.

C. The examination requirements shall not apply to an individual who currently holds and is in good standing under one of the following professional designations:

1. Certified Financial Planner (CFP) issued by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.;

2. Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) awarded by The American College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania;

3. Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) administered by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants;

4. Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) granted by the Association for Investment Management and Research;

5. Chartered Investment Counselor (CIC) granted by the Investment Counsel Association of America; or

6. Such other professional designation, after reasonable notice and subject to review by the commission, as the director of the division designates.

D. In lieu of meeting the examination requirement described in subsection A of this section, an applicant who meets all the qualifications set forth below may file with the commission at its division an executed Affidavit for Waiver of Examination (Form S.A.3).

1. No more than one other individual connected with the applicant's investment advisor is utilizing the waiver at the time the applicant files Form S.A.3.

2. The applicant is, and has been for at least the five years immediately preceding the date on which the application for registration is filed, actively engaged in the investment advisory business.

3. The applicant has been for at least the two years immediately preceding the date on which the application is filed the president, chief executive officer or chairman of the board of directors of an investment advisor organized in corporate form or the managing partner, member, trustee or similar functionary of an investment advisor organized in noncorporate form.

4. The investment advisor or advisors referred to in subdivision 3 of this subsection has been actively engaged in the investment advisory business and during the applicant's tenure as president, chief executive officer, chairman of the board of directors, or managing partner, member, trustee or similar functionary had at least $40 million under management.

5. The applicant verifies that he has read and is familiar with the investment advisor and investment advisor representative provisions of the Act and the provisions of Parts I through V of this chapter.

6. The applicant verifies that none of the questions in Item 14 (disciplinary history) on his Form U4 have been, or need be, answered in the affirmative.

Historical Notes

Derived from Rule 1106, Case No. SEC890040, eff. July 1, 1989; amended by Case No. SEC920008, eff. October 15, 1992; Volume 11, Issue 21, eff. July 1, 1995; Volume 13, Issue 25, eff. September 1, 1997; Errata, 13:26 VA.R. 3710 September 15, 1997; Volume 15, Issue 22, eff. July 1, 1999; Volume 25, Issue 22, eff. July 1, 2009; Volume 29, Issue 20, eff. June 3, 2013; Volume 31, Issue 25, eff. July 31, 2015.

Statutory Authority

§§ 12.1-13 and 13.1-523 of the Code of Virginia.