The FINRA proposal to eliminate certain requirements applicable to research reports on "covered investment funds," in accordance with the Fair Access to Investment Research Act of 2017 ("FAIR Act"), was published in the Federal Register. Comments must be submitted by July 29, 2019.

As previously reported, the SEC adopted a rule pursuant to the FAIR Act to establish a safe harbor to permit an unaffiliated broker-dealer participating in a securities offering of a covered investment fund to publish or distribute a research report on the covered investment fund. For this purpose, a "covered investment fund" includes specified SEC-registered investment companies, business development companies and exchange-traded funds.

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