It is that time of the year for registration renewals.  Renewal notices for investment advisor registration renewal were sent out by many states this week.  Additionally, brokers and brokerage firms will need to renew all of their registrations.  The following is the registration renewal notice I recieved today.  If your firm needs help with registration, please feel free to contact us. 

2009 IARD Registration Renewal Payment Reminder
Firm CRD #s:xxxxx

This is a final reminder that full payment of your Preliminary Renewal Statement must be posted to your firm’s IARD Renewal Account by December 12, 2008. Please send electronic (i.e. Web E-Pay, wire transfer) payment no later than December 10, 2008, to ensure that your payment posts by the December 12 payment deadline. An IA firm that does not pay its Preliminary Renewal Statement in full, will have all of its IA representatives’ (RAs) registrations with jurisdictions terminated effective December 31, 2008. Additionally, firms that fail to renew may be subject to fines levied by jurisdictions as well as re-registration requirements.

To retrieve your online statement, log on to IARD and select the Renewal Statement link from the Accounting section of the site map. If you have not logged on to IARD in the past 120 days, your password has expired. To obtain a new password, select the Forgot Password? link on the left side of the login screen and a new password will be emailed to you.
Please note: If you have recently submitted your payment, please check your firm’s Renewal Account to ensure that the payment was received and processed.

Key 2009 Renewal Program Dates:

•    December 10, 2008: This is the last day to make Web E-Pay electronic payments, send overnight check payments or initiate wire transfers to your Renewal Account to ensure that your payment posts by the December 12, 2008, payment deadline. Please visit the IARD Web site for detailed payment instructions and options.

•    December 12, 2008: Your firm’s Preliminary Renewal Statement payment should be posted to your firm’s Renewal Account with FINRA by this date.

o    Automatic Daily-to-Renewal Account Transfer
To facilitate renewal payment processing for all firms, FINRA will automatically transfer funds from a firm’s Daily Account to its Renewal Account on December 12, 2008, the Preliminary Renewal Statement payment deadline. FINRA will transfer funds only when a firm has sufficient funds available in its Daily Account on December 12 to cover the total amount due. Please Note: If your firm does not want funds automatically transferred from its Daily Account to its Renewal Account, your firm should ensure that FINRA receives payment by the December 12 deadline. Separately, if your firm wishes to transfer funds between affiliated firms, you should contact the IARD Call Center at (240) 386-4848 for further instructions prior to the renewal payment deadline.

•    December 26, 2008, 6 p.m. Eastern Time: This is the deadline for submitting all electronic form filings via IARD and Web CRD prior to the year-end renewal reconciliation. All post-dated filings must be dated for registration termination to take effect on December 31, 2008.

•    December 27, 2008: IARD and Web CRD will not be available due to final renewal reconciliation.

•    December 29 – December 31, 2008: Firms may query the system(s) and create pending filings. Full system functionality resumes on January 2, 2009.

•    January 2, 2009: Your Final Renewal Statement will be available online in IARD. If you have a renewal overpayment, it will automatically be transferred to your Daily Account in conjunction with year-end renewal processing. Visit the IARD Web site for instructions on how to request a refund from your firm’s Daily Account.

•    February 2, 2009: If you have an amount due on your Final Renewal Statement, this is the final day to make Web E-Pay electronic payments, send overnight check payments or initiate wire transfers to ensure that your payment posts to your Renewal Account by the February 4, 2009, payment deadline.

•    February 4, 2009: Your Final Renewal Statement payment should be posted to your firm’s Renewal Account by this date. Also, if you find any renewal discrepancies, you should report them to FINRA no later than this date.

For complete 2009 IARD Renewal Program information, please read the 2009 IARD Renewal Program Bulletin.

Questions regarding the information provided in this email or about the 2009 IARD Renewal Program may be directed to the IARD Call Center at (240) 386-4848 or by sending an email to [email protected].
The IARD Renewal Program facilitates the annual, electronic renewal of investment adviser (IA) firms and their IA representatives’ registrations with jurisdictions/states. As the operator of IARD, FINRA collects the 2009 renewal fees of electronic IA filers on behalf of the jurisdictions. Important note to SEC-registered IA firms: The IARD Renewal Program is not relevant to, and does not involve, fees associated with your firm’s SEC registration.

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This email is being sent to you as FINRA’s records indicate that you are an Account Administrator for your firm. If you are no longer an Account Administrator, please have your firm submit an updated Account Administrator Entitlement Form (AAEF) so that we may adjust our records accordingly. If you are not responsible for the annual renewal of your firm’s jurisdiction/state registrations, please forward this email to the appropriate individual(s) at your firm.