NASAA (North American Securities Administrators Association)

NASAA stands for the North American Securities Administrators Association. Think of it as the neighborhood watch for the investment world. While big federal agencies like the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) patrol the national highways of finance, NASAA is a coalition of the local “cops on the beat”—the state, provincial, and territorial securities regulators from across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Their core mission is simple and powerful: to protect Main Street investors like you from fraud and abuse. Formed in 1919, it's the oldest international organization devoted to investor protection. NASAA members handle the cases that might be too small or localized for federal authorities but are devastating to the individuals involved. They are on the front lines, ensuring that financial professionals are properly licensed, investigating local scams, and providing educational resources to help you invest wisely and safely.

NASAA isn't a government agency itself. Instead, it’s a voluntary membership organization that brings together the top securities watchdogs from all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the provinces and territories of Canada, and Mexico. These individual member agencies are the ones with the legal authority to enforce securities laws at the local level. It's helpful to see where NASAA fits in the regulatory landscape:

• The SEC is the federal regulator in the U.S., overseeing national exchanges, large corporations, and major market participants.
• FINRA is a self-regulatory organization, a private entity that writes and enforces the rules governing brokers and brokerage firms.
• NASAA members are the state/provincial regulators. They have a closer view of what's happening on the ground and often focus on protecting individual, or “retail,” investors within their jurisdiction. They coordinate through NASAA to share information, launch multi-state investigations, and establish best practices.

While NASAA might operate behind the scenes, its work has a direct and tangible impact on your financial safety.

NASAA and its members are relentless in their pursuit of securities fraud. They are particularly effective at sniffing out and shutting down schemes that target everyday people, such as:

• Localized Ponzi schemes promising impossibly high returns.
• Affinity fraud, where scammers prey on members of identifiable groups, like religious or ethnic communities.
• Unlicensed individuals selling unregistered, and often worthless, securities.

When you hear about a multi-state crackdown on a fraudulent investment operation, NASAA was likely the coordinating force that brought the state regulators together to protect investors across the country.

Ever wonder who decides what exams a financial professional needs to pass to give you investment advice? That’s often NASAA. It develops model rules and statements of policy that its members can adopt to create a uniform regulatory environment. Most importantly, NASAA is responsible for creating and maintaining the licensing exams that are the gateway to the industry for many professionals. If you work with an investment adviser, they likely had to pass one of these:

• Series 63 Exam: Covers state securities regulations (the “Uniform Securities Act”).
• Series 65 Exam: A comprehensive exam that licenses an individual to act as an investment adviser representative.
• Series 66 Exam: A combination exam that covers the material in both the Series 63 and Series 65.

By controlling these licensing standards, NASAA ensures a baseline level of competency and ethical understanding among financial professionals.

If you have a complaint about a broker or feel you've been pitched a questionable investment, your first and best call is often to your state or provincial securities regulator—a NASAA member. They are accessible and focused on local issues. The NASAA website is an excellent starting point, providing contact information for your local regulator and a wealth of investor education materials.

For a value investor, the principle of “know what you own” is paramount. This extends beyond just analyzing a company's balance sheet; it also means knowing who you are dealing with. NASAA provides the tools for this critical layer of due diligence. Before entrusting your hard-earned capital to anyone, a prudent investor should use the resources of their state securities regulator to check the background of the adviser or broker. You can verify their license, check their employment history, and, most importantly, see if they have any disciplinary actions or customer complaints on their record. This simple step is a powerful way to exercise Benjamin Graham's “Margin of Safety” principle—not for a stock, but for your choice of financial partner. By helping you vet the people selling investments, NASAA empowers you to follow Rule No. 1: Never lose money, especially to those who shouldn't be in the business in the first place.