Series 66: 9.1.6 Fraud

9.1.6  Fraud

Any act, practice, or course of business that is manipulative or deceptive may be considered fraud. Misrepresenting and omitting material facts are included in the definition of fraud. Fraud is deemed such a tremendous violation that all persons are prohibited from engaging in fraudulent activity in connection with securities offers and transactions under the Uniform Securities Act. This means that even persons who don’t need to register under the Act, such as federal covered advisers and out-of-state broker-dealers that only deal with institutional clients, are subject to actions taken by a state administrator if they engage in fraud in connection with a securities offer or transaction in the administrator’s state.

Certain activities have been explicitly declared to be fraudulent for investment advisers:

1. Using advertising that does