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The North American Securities Administrators Association recently released its annual enforcement report. The report is based on a survey of the 50 state members of NASAA. The states report data based on either the calendar year or their own fiscal year. Some highlights of the report are:
- Nearly 80% of the 2017 enforcement actions were administrative and just under 7% were civil. The balance were criminal or classified as "other".
- The average number of enforcement actions per year for the last five years was approximately 2,160. For the most recent year, the number was 2,017.
- For the second consecutive year, the states brought more enforcement actions against registered persons in the securities industry (broker-dealers, investment advisers, and their agents and representatives) than against unregistered individuals and firms.
- In the last year, the states reported 36 investigations and enforcement actions involving binary options. For more on binary options, see Binary Options and Securities Regulation.