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The purpose of this Notice is to advise all Amex members that, in addition to the Alternext Regulatory Education Program ("AREP") described in Amex Notices 2008-24, 2008-26 and 2008-29, certain other mandatory regulatory education must be completed prior to the planned transfer to the NYSE Floor. 1
This mandatory education requirement is applicable to all members who are involved in equities trading and seek to perform these functions as specialists or brokers on the NYSE Floor, whether as a primary trading license user or substitute.
Amex options trading will relocate to the NYSE Floor at a later date. Detailed information regarding education and training applicable to options members and their trading clerks will be provided separately. Please note, however, that members not intending to move to the NYSE Floor with the equities relocation do not need to complete the LMS mandatory education requirements at this time. However, any such members who plan to engage in equities trading on the NYSE Floor at a later date will be required to complete all then current LMS mandatory education requirements prior to being permitted on the NYSE Floor.
NYSE Regulation will deliver two regulatory education modules via the NYSE Learning Management System ("LMS"): Specialist Stabilization and Blue Line Trading. The LMS is a computer-based training system that is described further below. The first module is an interactive educational experience, and the latter is a slide show with voiceover.
Each LMS module will be delivered to the member via an e-mail from the LMS. This e-mail will provide an embedded link to the LMS. Each member firm contact will receive a copy of any e-mail sent to its members. The deadline for completing each module is 30 calendar days from the date that the module is sent to the member, pursuant to proposed NYSE Alternext Rule 103A (which is substantially identical to NYSE Rule 103A). Any Amex member who fails to meet the deadline will be denied access to the NYSE Alternext Floor for any purpose until such time as the member completes the regulatory assignment or assignments. Members and their respective member firms should anticipate receiving these modules via e-mail during the week of August 11, 2008.
NYSE Learning Management System
The LMS will provide members and their member firm contacts with access to training modules, notification of milestone deadlines for assignments, the ability to monitor members' compliance, and tools for the firm contact to run reports on their firm's members' compliance with the mandatory educational requirements. (Note that the Alternext Regulatory Education Program or AREP, which is delivered in person, is not tracked in the LMS.)
The LMS will deliver mandatory regulatory education assignments and important communications to members and member firm contacts via a web-based interactive program that members and member firm contacts can access from an internet-capable computer. The LMS will use member e-mail addresses, as well as member firm contact names and their e-mail addresses, which are on file with the American Stock Exchange. To verify the accuracy of this information or to change an e-mail address or firm contact name, please contact John Cunningham, Managing Director, Amex Membership Department at 212-306-1419 or via e-mail at john.cunningham@amex.com. Failure to have up-to-date information on file with the American Stock Exchange will shorten the available time for the member to comply with the deadline, which is calculated from the date that the LMS first attempts to e-mail the member. The LMS simultaneously sends an e-mail copy to the firm contact.
When the LMS delivers original assignments to members, with copies of original assignments to the firm contact, a User Guide and Quick Reference Card for members and firm contacts, respectively, will be included. A member's log-on ID is the member's personal CRD number. A firm contact's log-on ID is the member firm's CRD number. CRD numbers are available from WebCRD. Global Knowledge, the third-party vendor that hosts the LMS, will fully support LMS users. (Refer to the Staff and LMS Contact portion of this Notice for names and phone numbers of Global Knowledge personnel.)
Member Firm Supervision
Each member must complete the assignments made via the LMS under the in-person supervision of an individual associated with his or her member firm who either has a non-clerical compliance function and/or is a principal of the firm, or that person's delegate. A delegate must regularly hold a supervisory position at the member firm. Members who are sole proprietors may self supervise. Members who are qualified to supervise other firm personnel may not self-supervise. The supervisor must monitor each member's interaction with a given module from the beginning to the end of the learning experience. Simply observing logging on and off is not sufficient supervision.
After all of the members in a member firm have completed the two assignments related to the transfer to NYSE Alternext delivered via the LMS, a compliance officer or principal of the firm must attest in writing to NYSE Regulation that the members have completed the assignments under supervision. The attestation should be sent to David De Gregorio, Chief Counsel, Division of Market Surveillance, 30 Broad Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10004, or sent by facsimile to him at 212.656.5200. The attestations must be delivered no later than three days after the deadline to receive credit for completing the assignments.
Staff and LMS Contacts
If you have any questions about the content of the Specialist Stabilization or Blue Line Trading modules, please contact Carol Krusik, Director, NYSE Member Education, at 212-656-4597, or Peter Bon Viso, Senior Counsel, at 212-656-5621.
For assistance with using the LMS and associated modules, members and firm contacts should call Global Knowledge. The primary contact is David Whaley, NYSE Program Coordinator, at 919-303-4356 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Global Knowledge Help Desk is available 24 hours, seven days a week, at 800-274-1077.
To update e-mail addresses and member firm contact names, please contact John Cunningham, Managing Director, Amex Membership Department, at 212-306-1419 or via e-mail at john.cunningham@amex.com.
1 The transfer to the NYSE Floor will occur following completion of the proposed acquisition of Amex by NYSE Euronext. The proposed acquisition, which was approved by Amex seat owners on June 17, 2008, remains subject to the satisfaction of certain other conditions including the approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and the Amex and NYSE Euronext are hopeful that the acquisition will close during September 2008. Shortly after completion of the transaction, Amex equities trading will be relocated to the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") Floor. Pending SEC approval, NYSE Alternext will adopt rules that are virtually identical to current NYSE rules applicable to the NYSE Hybrid Marketsm and governing equities trading, since such rules reflect the market structure and features of the NYSE Alternext Trading Systems. See SR-Amex-2008-63 which sets forth the proposed rule changes applicable to equities trading and other related requirements, as well as SR-Amex-2008-62 with respect to other proposed rule changes that will be applicable to Amex members and member organizations immediately following the NYSE acquisition.