Which of the following would not be a prohibited activity for a broker-dealer?
I. A broker-dealer tells a client that a municipal revenue bond offered by the city of Boston, Massachusetts is almost risk-free because it is backed by the taxes paid to the city, and the city generates a lot of tax dollars.
II. A broker-dealer sells a client some bonds that the broker-dealer has in its portfolio, after informing the client that it is acting as a seller in the transaction.
III. A broker-dealer purchases some stock that a client is selling for its own portfolio, after informing the client that it is acting as a buyer in the transaction.
IV. A broker-dealer purchases 1,000 shares of Southwest Airlines for a client who calls and asks the broker-dealer to buy some shares of a domestic airline stock at a good price for him and receives written discretionary authority from the client two days later, prior to the settlement date.
Explanation
Answer: B - Only Selections II and III describe activities that are not prohibited for a broker-dealer. A broker-dealer can act as a dealer and either sell securities that it owns to a client, as described in Selection II, or buy securities from a client, as described in Selection III, to hold in its own portfolio as long as it discloses to the client that it is doing so. A broker-dealer cannot tell a client that a revenue bond issued by the city of Boston, Massachusetts is almost risk-free since there is a risk of default, especially in the case of a revenue bond, which is not backed by the full taxing power of the city, but only by the revenues generated by a specific project. Moreover, there are other risks involved in bond investments, such as interest rate risk, so Selection I is a prohibited activity. A broker-dealer cannot make a discretionary trade for a client that involves more than just price and time within receiving written authorization prior to executing the trade, so Selection IV also describes a prohibited activity.
