On Tuesday, the New Jersey attorney general’s office announced it was relaxing registration rules to allow financial professionals who live in the state but normally work in neighboring states to work from home.
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The past few weeks have seen major financial institutions rush to transition employees to telecommuting, but for those who normally commute across state lines, working from home could expose them to regulatory actions.
In a joint statement issued with the New Jersey Bureau of Securities within the Division of Consumer Affairs, the attorney general announced an emergency order that would temporarily exempt “displaced broker-dealers, investment advisers, and their registered agents or representatives from certain registration and filing requirements of the New Jersey Uniform Securities Law.”
The order allows financial pros who are registered in other states but have to work from home or temporary remote offices in New Jersey to conduct business with existing clients.
“In effect, the order ensures that financial services professionals who live in New Jersey, but who ordinarily work in New York or another State, can work from home or from a New Jersey office, as stay-at-home and social-distancing policies adopted by Governors across the region to combat the spread of COVID-19 have made it harder for commuters to work from their usual offices,” the agencies said in the statement.
The order makes some common-sense stipulations about who can continue to serve clients: financial professionals must have an active license somewhere, and must be in good standing. It also notes that exempted advisors can’t use this time to solicit new business from clients in or from the state.
The order also offers relief for financial professionals registered in New Jersey, extending Form ADV deadlines and waiving some requirements to obtain physical signatures on electronically sent documents.
The emergency order is set to expire on April 30, unless it is rescinded earlier or extended.
At the same time that they issued the emergency order to allow advisors with out-of-state licenses to practice in New Jersey, the bureau and attorney general’s office reminded investors to be cautious about scammers.
“Con artists are opportunists who use current events to lend an air of immediacy and legitimacy to their schemes,” Paul Rodríguez, acting director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, said in a statement. “If you have concerns about your retirement accounts or investments, talk to your financial professional. Avoid making decisions based on panic or fear.”
The statement specifically warned against pitches for investments in companies that claim to be able to cure or prevent COVID-19, or that say they are selling scare supplies like surgical masks and hand sanitizer; and unsolicited phone calls from alleged “financial professionals” using fears of market volatility and the COVID-19 pandemic to pressure consumers into making investments they don’t want.