SEC Rule 606 Reporting: A Complete Guide to Reporting Requirements
Let’s be honest, regulatory reporting can feel overwhelming. Between evolving SEC expectations and the pressure to maintain transparency, broker-dealers often find themselves juggling compliance with operational efficiency. If you’ve ever wondered whether your 606 reporting process is as smooth and accurate as it should be, you’re not alone. That’s exactly why understanding SEC Rule 606 and using the right compliance tools matters more than ever. In this guide by Capital Market Solutions, we’ll walk through what Rule 606 requires, the differences between 606(a) and 606(b), and how modern solutions like RSMS for SEC 606 reporting can simplify the process. What Is SEC Rule 606(a)? At its heart, SEC Rule 606(a) is about public transparency. It requires broker-dealers that route equity and option orders on behalf of customers to prepare quarterly reports disclosing detailed information about their order routing practices for non-directed orders in NMS stocks and NMS securities that are options contracts. These reports are published in both PDF and XML formats for every calendar quarter. The process usually involves collecting massive amounts of data at the end of the quarter and publishing it shortly thereafter. The goal? To give the public a clear view of where U.S. exchange-listed equity securities and options were routed for execution. It also requires firms to disclose the nature of any relationship they have with those venues, including payment for order flow. By fostering this type of competition, the SEC ensures the market remains fair for everyone. What Is SEC Rule 606(b)? While 606(a) is for the public, Rule 606(b) is personalized accountability. This section deals with customer-specific disclosures. If a customer comes to you and asks, “Where did my specific order go?”, Rule 606(b) mandates that you provide that answer. Under 606(b)(1), broker-dealers must disclose to customers, upon request, the venues to which their individual orders were routed for execution. Furthermore, with the expansion of the rule, 606(b)(3) now requires much deeper disclosures for institutional customers regarding “held” and “not held” orders. This level of granular detail can be a logistical nightmare without the right SEC 606 compliance tools in place. SEC Rule 606 Reporting Requirements (At a Glance) If you’re looking for a quick checklist, here is what the SEC expects from your reporting: How RSMS Simplifies SEC Rule 606 Reporting RSMS is a cloud-based regtech platform that has earned the trust of broker-dealers. Built with seamless compliance workflows, integration and reliability at its core, RSMS makes 606 compliance easier, faster, and error-free. By using RSMS for SEC 606 reporting, firms can move away from legacy tools and move toward a future of reporting reliability. It’s built to ensure your reporting is accurate, secure, and, most importantly, on time. Why Broker-Dealers Choose RSMS Why are so many firms making the switch? Because RSMS is designed to take the SEC 606 reporting weight off your shoulders so you can focus on bigger goals like growing your business and maintaining topline compliance posture. Trusted, Secure Cloud-Hosted Platform: Your data is protected by industry-leading security protocols. Full Coverage for All 606 Reporting Requirements The regulatory landscape is always shifting, but RSMS stays ahead of the curve. Our regtech platform provides comprehensive support for every facet of the rule: Trust RSMS for Seamless SEC Rule 606 Reporting At the end of the day, SEC Rule 606 is about honesty and transparency in the markets. But we also know that the administrative burden of these requirements can be overwhelming for even the most seasoned compliance teams. We hope this guide helped you understand SEC Rule 606 reporting better. Don’t let reporting requirements slow your momentum. By leveraging RSMS for SEC 606 reporting, you gain a regtech partner that is as invested in your compliance success as you are. Whether you are looking for better SEC 606 reporting tools or a complete overhaul of your CAT/CAIS regulatory workflow, RSMS has the solution. Ready to see how easy 606 compliance can be? Book a demo and let us show you how RSMS can transform your SEC Rule 606 reporting from a headache into a streamlined, automated success story.
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How RSMS Makes Exception Management Effortless
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires firms to create, preserve, and retrieve records that reflect the full scope of their securities business.
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How RSMS Vault Resolves Key Challenges in SEC 17a-4 Compliance
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires firms to create, preserve, and retrieve records that reflect the full scope of their securities business.
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RSMS Is Here to Make SEC Rule 605/606 Reporting Effortless for Broker-Dealers
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires firms to create, preserve, and retrieve records that reflect the full scope of their securities business.
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SEC Rule 17a-4 Explained: What Every Broker-Dealer Firm Needs to Know
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires firms to create, preserve, and retrieve records that reflect the full scope of their securities business.
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Comparative Review: Reconciling to the Next Level with RSMS
Compliance teams today are feeling the squeeze. Regulatory scrutiny has intensified, and FINRA CAT reporting sits right at the center of that pressure.
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How RSMS Transforms Compliance and Reg Reporting
At its core, RSMS helps firms comply with CAT and CAIS by surfacing issues early, validating submissions before they’re filed, and giving teams actionable insight rather than noise. Our secure cloud deployment means faster rollout, easier scaling,
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Comparative Review with RSMS – The Next Level of Visibility
By unifying comparative review workflows and providing an intuitive, comprehensive interface purpose-built for CAT reporting, RSMS gives compliance and operations teams the means to achieve a new level of insight, control, and confidence.
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Maximizing Efficiency and Precision in Regulatory Data Reconciliation with Comparative Review and Recon
Reconciling CAT events with a firm’s internal transaction records is layered with technical and operational challenges. Firms are required to aggregate information flowing from a multitude of internal and external sources, across trade orders,
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How RSMS Vault Transforms SEC Record Retention for Broker-Dealers
Blog How RSMS Vault Transforms SEC Record Retention for Broker-Dealers Navigating the maze of SEC rules 17a-3 and 17a-4 is one of the most persistent compliance challenges in modern financial operations. For years, the industry standard has been to lean heavily on storage solutions designed to meet the SEC requirements, particularly the Write Once Read Many (WORM) mandate. But relying solely on basic storage is no longer enough. Beyond simply locking files, compliance today involves real oversight, rigorous process controls, and efficient workflows to avoid costly errors, gaps, or exposures. Broker-dealers are increasingly aware that ticking a WORM storage box is not a shield against true regulatory risk. This is precisely the gap that RSMS Vault addresses, moving broker-dealers beyond storage-only thinking, and into a new era of compliance where oversight, efficiency, and reduced exposure are built directly into the very architecture of record retention. The Limitations of Traditional WORM Solutions Many firms are still saddled with “lock-and-store” solutions that were built decades ago for a much simpler regulatory world. These legacy tools may meet minimum standards for WORM retention, but their limitations quickly reveal themselves in practice: No Automation or Modern Controls: Most legacy systems offer little beyond passive storage. There’s no built-in logic for flagging issues, monitoring data health, or generating useful insights. Cumbersome, Manual Oversight: Compliance teams are forced to rely on spreadsheets, emails, or entirely separate systems to track incidents, perform reconciliations, and demonstrate supervisory controls, driving up errors and resource costs. Limited Integration: Storing data is just one part of the process. Modern compliance demands that storage work seamlessly with other key systems, but traditional solutions are often isolated silos. Visible Compliance Exposure: Without robust monitoring and integrated audit capabilities, it’s easy for gaps to go unnoticed until an examination, creating real business risk. Clearly, broker-dealers need a future-ready approach—one that not only “locks” data, but transforms how they manage, oversee, and operationalize compliance. RSMS Vault – A Modern Compliance Solution RSMS Vault, the latest innovation from Capital Market Solutions, is purpose-built to address the full spectrum of compliance needs facing broker-dealers today. This is far more than just a storage upgrade, it’s a shift to a modern, secure, cloud-hosted SaaS platform designed around the way compliance teams actually work. RSMS Vault addresses the shortcomings of legacy products by: Meeting the foundational requirement of SEC Rule 17a-4 for WORM-compliant storage, and then going much further. Embedding oversight and process sophistication directly into the platform, reducing manual tasks and enhancing both team and management visibility. Providing an intuitive, web-accessible interface that gives compliance officers and senior executives real control without requiring them to manage technical complexity. Replacing scattered, piecemeal workflows with integrated tracking, reporting, and supervisory dashboards. The result is a compliance storage solution that doesn’t just keep you on the right side of regulations, it gives your team the oversight, efficiency, and control they need to stay ahead. Key Features that Set RSMS Vault Apart Advanced Storage & Security : WORM-Compliance: RSMS Vault ensures records are securely locked, fully meeting SEC Rule 17a-4 requirements, including WORM storage, supervisory control, and support for storage retention special circumstances such as HOLD. Data Security: End-to-end encryption protects sensitive records at rest. User-controlled data retention settings allow fine-grained management of data lifecycles, reducing the risk of retention errors or accidental deletion. Easy-to-Manage Structure: Storage hierarchy is streamlined for quick access and organization, so compliance teams can retrieve the information they need in seconds, not hours. Supervisory Control & Automation Integrated Monitoring: Incoming data is constantly monitored for completeness and correctness, eliminating the blind spots common in manual processes. Incident Tracking & Case Management: Rather than relying on separate tools, incidents are logged and managed within RSMS Vault, providing a clear audit trail. Reconciliation: Continuous cross-checks help flag discrepancies long before an audit, giving teams ample time to resolve issues proactively. Oversight Dashboards: Compliance officers and executives gain immediate insight into workflows, incident status, and key metrics, all in one centralized view. Data Governance & Accessibility Entitlement-Based Access: Only authorized users can search, view, or export records, ensuring sensitive information stays protected. Easy Export and Reporting: Comprehensive search and instant export functions make audit prep and regulatory submissions fast and accurate. Smart Integration: Out-of-the-box connections to leading applications and data sources reduce IT headaches and break down silos. Self-Audit Capabilities: Internal reviews are now simple, with built-in tools that make it easy to review retention, incidents, and user activity. Switch to RSMS Vault Outdated WORM-only storage tools might help you “check the box,” but they don’t solve the bigger challenges broker-dealers face—manual processes, lack of visibility, and lingering compliance risks. Today, firms need more than storage; they need confidence and control. RSMS Vault, as a robust cloud-hosted platform, elevates SEC record retention from a storage problem to a complete compliance oversight solution. With encrypted storage, user-controlled retention, automated incident tracking, real-time dashboards, and self-audit capabilities, this smart regtech gives compliance officers and executives the clarity and assurance they’ve been missing. Ready to simplify SEC record retention while gaining complete compliance oversight? Book a demo and experience the future of compliance storage.
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