Hey everyone! I currently have my series 65 and am considering working as a streamer for a service where there are fees members and I get paid from these fees. Does that require me to act in a fiduciary capacity? I would just like some more clarity on the legalities and liability if someone would be able to shed some insight.
What exactly do you mean by "working as a streamer"? You are going to be live streaming... ummm... what? Investment advice? Trading recommendations? Commentary on why a stock is going up or down? Or something else? And I think your original post is missing at least one word, possibly more. And one word can change the entire meaning of a sentence. You wrote that "there are fees members and I get paid from these fees." So you and your members get paid? From fees that are collected from... whom? Or did you mean that the members pay the fees and you get paid from those fees? Are there any other typos? I honestly can't figure out exactly what you are talking about? BMK
So a company wants to hire me to live stream content that would involve education as well as trade recommendations. They have other people they have hired who perform the same role and have not had a series 65 so I know it is not required for the position. I am paid by the company for live streaming the content. The company makes money by charging a subscription fee to the viewers.
Is there a case where I would be exposed to liability in the position I described due to this fiduciary obligation?
Don't know about that specifically. Being a fiduciary as an RIA is kind of a way of thinking and behaving... always disclose everything, customer's interests first, no shady deals, honesty at all times, etc. Have you had an audit of your RIA? Years ago some RIAs could go an entire career without an audit. I had 4 RIA audits and 2 CFTC audits. Why so many? I think it was because there is a regional SEC office in Denver and they sent out their rookie agents to get some practice on me. The only gig I ever got was that I didn't have some customer information on their "account card"... like address and phone number (it was elsewhere too, but was supposed to be on that card for "quick reference" by auditors, you know). They sent a follow-up inspection for that one thing to make sure I'd updated those cards as I was supposed to. Imagine that?
I have to pity the poor fools who would engage with you on streaming, when you are an RIA and can't answer your own question about liability.