(a) A broker-dealer or investment adviser, or an agent or representative thereof, shall not use a senior-specific certification, credential, or professional designation in connection with the offer, sale, or purchase of securities, or the provision of advice as to the value of or the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities, either directly or indirectly or through publications or writings or by issuing or promulgating analyses or reports relating to securities, that indicates or implies that the broker-dealer, investment adviser, or an agent or representative thereof, has special certification or training in advising or servicing senior citizens or retirees, in such a way as to mislead any person.
(b) The prohibited use of these certifications, credentials, or professional designations includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) The use of a certification, credential, or professional designation by a person who has not actually earned or is otherwise ineligible to use the certification, credential, or designation.
(2) The use of a nonexistent or self-conferred certification, credential, or professional designation.
(3) The use of a certification, credential, or professional designation that indicates or implies a level of occupational qualifications obtained through education, training, or experience that the person using the certification, credential, or professional designation does not have.
(4) The use of a certification, credential, or professional designation that was obtained from a designating, credentialing, or certifying organization where any of the following apply:
(A) The organization is primarily engaged in the business of instruction in sales marketing.
(B) The organization does not have reasonable standards or procedures for assuring the competency of individuals to whom it grants a certification, credential, or professional designation.
(C) The organization does not have reasonable standards or procedures for monitoring and disciplining individuals with a certification, credential, or professional designation for improper or unethical conduct.
(D) The organization does not have reasonable continuing education requirements for individuals with a certification, credential, or professional designation in order to maintain the certificate, credential, or professional designation.
(c) There is a rebuttable presumption that a designating, credentialing, or certifying organization is not disqualified solely for the purposes of paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) when the organization has been accredited by the American National Standards Institute, the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, or an organization that is on the United States Department of Education’s list entitled “Accrediting Agencies Recognized for Title IV Purposes” and the certification, credential, or professional designation issued therefrom does not primarily apply to sales and/or marketing.
(d) In determining whether a combination of words, or an acronym standing for a combination of words, constitutes a certification, credential, or professional designation indicating or implying that a person has special certification or training in advising or serving senior citizens or retirees, factors to be considered shall include both of the following:
(1) Use of one or more word such as “senior,” “retirement,” “elder,” or like words combined with one or more words such as “certified,” “registered,” “chartered,” “adviser,” “specialist,” “consultant,” “planner,” or like words, in the name of the certification, credential, or professional designation or credential.
(2) The manner in which those words are combined.
(e) This section shall not apply to the use of a job title by a person within an organization that is licensed or registered by the Department of Business Oversight or a federal financial services regulatory agency, when that job title indicates seniority or standing within the organization, or specifies a person’s area of specialization within the organization. For the purposes of this subdivision, federal financial services regulatory agency includes, but is not limited to, an agency that regulates brokers or dealers, investment advisers, or investment companies as described under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. Sec. 809-1 et seq.).
(f) (1) This section shall not apply to a broker or agent who is licensed by the Department of Insurance and is in compliance with the requirements of Section 787.1 of the Insurance Code.
(2) This subdivision shall be operative only if Assembly Bill 2150 of the 2007–08 Regular Session is chaptered and becomes effective and that bill adds Section 787.1 to the Insurance Code.
(g) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2009.
(Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 190, Sec. 16. (AB 1517) Effective January 1, 2016.)