NEB Raises Standards to Enhance the Value of Membership

May 2007—The National Ethics Bureau has announced two new membership standards designed to strengthen the NEB brand and further increase consumer confidence in its growing number of member advisors.

Effective June 1, 2007, NEB applicants who have been declared bankrupt within four years of their application date will not be considered for membership.

Also effective June 1, NEB applicants who have had a consumer settlement within seven years will have those settlements made available to consumers. Under this new standard, NEB will disclose:

1. the date of the consumer settlement (in the advisor’s NASD file)
2. that the settlement was with a consumer (without naming the person)
3. that there was no indication or conclusion of guilt or wrongdoing.

The standards apply to all new memberships effective June 1, 2007. They will also affect existing members whose renewal date occurs after June 1.

A renewing member who can’t qualify because of a bankruptcy within the prior four years will be encouraged to re-apply after meeting the four-year look-back.

The new settlement disclosures will apply to all new applicants effective June 1 and to existing NEB members as they re-apply for membership., with the transition completed by June 1, 2008.

Affecting less than 4 percent of its member base, the new standards will strengthen the NEB brand and help consumers select NEB members with confidence. Ultimately, the goal is to help advisors receive maximum value for their NEB membership.

Members with questions about these changes should contact NEB Member Services at
(800) 282-1831.