FINRA Tightens Rules on Brokers' Side Hustles and Hobbies
Published Date: 5/6/2026
Notice
Summary
FINRA wants to update its rules about what outside jobs and activities financial workers can have. This new rule, FINRA Rule 3290, replaces two older rules to make things clearer and easier to follow. If approved, it affects financial pros who must report outside work, with no big cost changes but tighter reporting rules coming soon.
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 3 costs, 0 mixed.
Approval required for paid outside securities deals
If you plan to take part in an outside securities transaction where you may receive selling compensation, you must give prior written notice and obtain your member firm's prior written approval. If approved, the member must record the transaction on its books and supervise your participation as if the transaction were executed on behalf of the member.
Firms can limit or bar outside activities
When a member firm gets notice of an outside activity or outside securities transaction, the firm must assess whether it involves customers, conflicts with duties, or would be viewed as part of the firm's business, and the firm may impose conditions, limitations, or prohibit the activity. If a firm imposes conditions or limits, it must reasonably supervise compliance with those conditions.
Less supervision for unaffiliated adviser roles
The proposed rule replaces prior supervision and recordkeeping requirements for a registered person's activity at an unaffiliated investment adviser with a notice-and-assessment approach. That activity would be treated as an outside activity rather than an outside securities transaction in many cases.
New written notice for outside activities
If you are a FINRA-registered person, you must give your member firm prior written notice before doing any investment-related activity outside your firm and you must update that notice if there is a material change. The notice must describe the outside activity and your role in detail.
Certain activities excluded from the rule
The proposed rule explicitly excludes specific activities from coverage, including activity on behalf of a member or its affiliate, securities transactions among immediate family with no selling compensation, transactions covered by FINRA Rule 3210, personal investments in non-securities, and purchase/sale/rental/lease of a main home and up to two secondary homes meeting listed ownership tests. It also treats activity at an unaffiliated registered investment adviser and certain activities covered by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act or Regulation R as outside activities rather than outside securities transactions.
Personalized for You
How does this regulation affect your finances?
Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this federal register document means for your household, plus every other regulation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Key Dates
Department and Agencies
Related Federal Register Documents
2026-19260, Rescission of Rule 14a-8's Federal Regulation of Shareholder Proposals and Amendments to Rule 14a-4
The SEC wants to stop its federal rule that controls how shareholders can make proposals at company meetings, letting state laws and company rules take over instead. They’re also changing rules so companies can sometimes vote on proposals not in their official materials—but shareholders can opt out if they want. This affects investors and companies, with comments open until November 20, 2026, and could shake up how shareholder voices are heard and counted.
2026-18424, Political Contributions by Certain Investment Advisers
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission" or the "SEC") is proposing to rescind the political contribution rule under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the "Advisers Act"), which prohibits investment advisers from providing investment advisory services for compensation to a government client for two years after an adviser or any covered associate of the adviser makes a contribution to certain categories of elected officials or candidates, among other prohibitions. In the more than fifteen years since the rule was adopted, implementation challenges associated with the political contribution rule have resulted in a range of significant unintended consequences, including compliance practices among some investment advisers that may have had the effect of restricting all political contributions by the investment advisers and their employees. Market participants also have stated that the political contribution rule is burdensome, complex, and both lacks clarity and creates a de facto strict liability standard. The Commission is of the view that other existing requirements of the Advisers Act and its associated rules, including prohibitions on fraud, fiduciary duty requirements, the compliance rule, and the code of ethics rule (defined below), are likely sufficient to address pay-to-play practices while allowing an adviser the flexibility to implement an approach that is more appropriately tailored to its particular risks, rendering the political contribution rule unnecessary. The Commission also is proposing to amend the rule under the Advisers Act pertaining to books and records consistent with the proposed rescission.
2026-18190, Transfer Agent Rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or "Commission") is proposing to adopt new rules, amend existing rules, amend the existing form for registration with the Commission as a transfer agent (Form TA-1) and the existing form for reporting activities of transfer agents (Form TA-2), and rescind an existing rule governing registered transfer agents. The proposals are designed to modernize the rules governing registered transfer agents.
2026-17183, Regulation Crypto Assets
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") is proposing new rules to create a tailored offering regime for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets. The proposed offering regime is intended to facilitate capital formation and accommodate innovation within the crypto asset markets while, at the same time, ensuring that investors are adequately protected and provided with the information they need to make informed investment decisions. The proposed rules would be set forth in a new regulation titled "Regulation Crypto Assets" and would include two exemptions from the registration requirements of section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933. The first exemption would permit offerings of up to $5 million during a four-year period. The second exemption would permit offerings of up to $75 million during each 12-month period. Under both exemptions, issuers would be required to make certain principles-based narrative disclosures available to their investors. In addition, issuers under the second exemption would be required to provide financial statements and would be subject to ongoing reporting requirements. Issuers that rely on these exemptions would remain subject to the antifraud and antimanipulation provisions of the Federal securities laws. The proposed rules also would include a conditional safe harbor from the term "investment contract" in the definitions of "security" in the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. If the conditions of that proposed safe harbor are satisfied, then a crypto asset would be deemed not to be subject to an investment contract for purposes of those definitions of "security."
2026-12163, The Trade-Through Rule and Locked and Crossed Markets Provisions of Regulation NMS
The SEC wants to scrap some old rules that stop stocks from being traded at worse prices and prevent confusing market quotes. This change affects stock traders and exchanges, aiming to simplify trading and possibly speed things up. If you want to share your thoughts, you’ve got until August 17, 2026, so don’t miss out!
2026-10373, Registered Offering Reform
The SEC wants to make it easier and cheaper for more companies to sell their stocks and bonds to the public. They’re opening up special forms and benefits to more businesses, updating rules to be more modern, and cutting red tape by overriding some state rules. If you’re a company planning to raise money, these changes could speed things up and save you money, with feedback due by July 27, 2026.
Previous / Next Documents
Previous: 2026-08796, Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean Air Act
The government is teaming up with Kroger to fix problems with their grocery stores’ refrigerant systems that harm the ozone layer. Kroger will pay $2.5 million and promise to repair leaks faster and keep better records. You’ve got 30 days to share your thoughts before the deal is final!
Next: 2026-08798, Extension and Modification of the Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program
The USPTO is extending its Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program until May 6, 2028, letting inventors speed up their patent appeal reviews. Now, decisions will come even faster—within four months instead of six! This helps inventors get answers quicker without changing fees, making the patent process smoother and snappier.