Federal Law of the Russian Federation on the securities market. Law on the securities market in the Russian Federation

The main legal act regulating relations in the field of issuance and sale of exchange certificates is the federal “On the Securities Market”. Its first version was adopted by the State Duma of the Russian Federation on March 20, 1996, and approval by the Federation Council occurred on April 11. Since then, all exchange relations have come under state control.

After which a large number of additions and amendments were made to it, primarily related to the high speed of change in the exchange environment as well as the introduction of technological innovations, which also had to be legalized within the framework of this document. Significant changes are rare, such as in 2015 as part of the amendments to Article 17.

Structurally, this act consists of 6 sections and 53 articles. Each section is devoted to a separate aspect of the law and its interpretation. All participants in exchange trading in Russia, both local and foreign persons, are bound to compliance with these parties. Both large corporations and private ones represented by brokers. Let's review this Federal Law.

First section

The first section expresses the general provisions of the normative act. According to federal law, the description of its purpose reads as follows:

“Relations arising during the issue and circulation of issue-grade securities, regardless of the type of issuer, during the circulation of other securities in cases provided for by federal laws, as well as the specifics of the creation and activities of professional participants in the securities market are regulated.”

The second article is a kind of glossary, which lists the main “actors” - professional participants, issuers and owners. The concepts of the objects of trade themselves are also interpreted in detail.

Both basic, classic commodities are listed: stocks, bonds, bills, and derivatives - options, futures, etc. Particular attention is paid to the derivative financial instrument, for example the following concept follows:

“A derivative financial instrument is an agreement, other than a repurchase agreement, that provides for one or more of the following obligations”

Second section

The second section interprets in detail the concepts of market participants. The Federal Law on the Securities Market explains brokerage activity as the activity of executing orders from a client (including the issuer of issue-grade assets when placing them) to carry out civil transactions with certificates and (or) to conclude contracts that are derivative financial instruments, carried out on on the basis of fee-based agreements with the client (hereinafter referred to as the brokerage service agreement).

The broker has the right to use in his own interests the funds located in a special brokerage account (accounts), if this is provided for in the brokerage service agreement, guaranteeing to the client the execution of his orders at the expense of the specified funds or their return at the request of the client.

The funds of clients who have granted the right to use them to the broker in his interests must be in a special brokerage account (accounts), separate from the special brokerage account (accounts) in which the funds of clients who have not granted the broker such a right are located. Funds of clients who have granted the broker the right to use them can be credited by the broker to his own bank account

Terminology of the second section

Dealership activities are also explained, as well as the concepts of shareholders:

• Dealer activity is the carrying out of transactions for the purchase and sale of documentation on one's own behalf and at one's own expense by publicly announcing the purchase and/or sale prices of certain securities with the obligation to purchase and/or sell these securities at prices announced by the person carrying out such activities
• Nominee holder is a depositary, on whose personal account (custody account) the rights to assets owned by other persons are taken into account.
• Asset management activities are recognized as activities related to trust management of documentary property, funds intended for making transactions with the Central Bank and (or) concluding agreements that are derivative financial instruments.
• Repository activities are recognized as activities carried out on the basis of a license from the Bank of Russia to provide services for the collection, recording, processing and storage of information on repurchase agreements concluded outside of organized trading, agreements that are derivative financial instruments, agreements of other types provided for by regulations of the Bank of Russia, as well as for maintaining a register of these agreements (hereinafter referred to as the register of agreements)

The asset allocation process is also explained. According to the law, certificates are admitted to organized trading through their listing. Listing is permitted provided that such securities comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, including regulations of the Bank of Russia. The Exchange has the right to list securities by including them in quotation lists that are part of the list of tickets admitted to organized trading.

Third section

The third section focuses on the asset issuance process and issuance concepts. The legal procedure for conducting an issue is explained in detail, from the meeting of shareholders to the placement of securities on the stock exchange. It also reveals the essence of the circulation of emission certificates in trade, the procedure for handling them, registration and other attributes.

• Issue-grade securities can be registered or bearer. Registered issue-grade securities may be issued only in book-entry form, except for cases provided for by federal laws. Issue-grade bearer securities can only be issued in documentary form.
• For each issue-grade bearer security, its owner is issued. At the owner's request, one certificate may be issued for two or more issue-grade bearer securities of the same issue purchased by him. This provision does not apply to bearer securities with mandatory centralized storage.
• The certificate of issue-grade bearer securities must contain the details provided for by this Federal Law. Requirements for forms of certificates of issue-grade bearer securities, with the exception of forms of certificates of issue-grade bearer securities with mandatory centralized storage, are established by regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation.
• The total number of issue-grade bearer securities indicated in all certificates issued by the issuer must not exceed the number of issue-grade bearer securities in a given issue.

Fourth and fifth sections

The fourth section of this regulatory document of the Russian Federation is devoted to the information environment around processes related to the issue and trading of assets. For example, according to the legislative act under study, the issuing company is obliged to provide full information coverage of its processes, including the official open publication of reports.

The fifth section is directly devoted to the regulation of exchange trading. State bodies that have the authority to carry out any of these activities in order to solve crimes, prevent them, and also regulate specific issues are indicated. Including authorized devices for interpreting the postulates of this document are prescribed.

The basics of activity regulation are the following checklist:

• establishing mandatory requirements for the activities of professional participants in the securities market and its standards;
• state registration of issues (additional issues) of emission assets and control over compliance by issuers with the conditions and obligations provided for therein;
• licensing the activities of professional participants in documentation trading;
• creating a system for protecting the rights of owners and monitoring compliance with their rights by issuers and professional trading participants
• prohibition and suppression of the activities of persons carrying out business activities at auctions without an appropriate license.

Particular attention is paid to the role, functions and tasks of the Bank of Russia as the official representative of government agencies in financial systems. Article 42 fully describes the entire functionality of the BR as an authorized legal entity.

Sixth section

The last section fixes the immediate procedure for the entry into force of the document under study, and also answers some rather important questions, devoting the following articles to them:

• Article 51. Responsibility for violations of the legislation of the Russian Federation on the Central Bank
• 51.1. Peculiarities of placement and circulation of securities of foreign issuers in the Russian Federation
• 51.2. Qualified investors
• 51.3. Repurchase agreement
• 51.4. Peculiarities of concluding contracts that are derivative financial instruments
• 51.5. Sample terms of contracts and general agreement (single contract) in the financial market
• 51.6. Peculiarities of pledging and otherwise encumbering uncertificated securities

Securities and Shares Law

Working with shares and securities is hardly possible without knowledge and understanding of the Law governing this area of ​​the economy. In this article we will try to understand a number of fundamental Laws, without which it is impossible to regulate the securities market and their systematic issue/re-issue.

: what it is?

A bond is another type of equity security that allows its owner to receive cash or any other equivalent from the issuer. In some cases, the bond pays fixed interest. The amount of payments depends on the face value - the higher it is, the higher the interest and the greater the payments. The yield on bonds is called a discount.

Issuer - the third type of issue-grade security, which assigns to the owner the right to purchase a certain number of shares of the issuer at a fixed and predetermined price. The price is determined in the issuer option. The issuer's options are placed after a decision is made in accordance with the current Laws in the field of placement of securities.

Issue of equity securities. We are talking about the totality of all securities belonging to the same issuer, vesting the owners with the same amount of rights and characterized by an identical nominal value provided for by the Legislation of the Russian Federation. Each issue of equity securities has its own unique registration number. It applies to all types of securities united in one issue.

Issue-grade securities of additional issue. Here we are talking about a set of securities that were placed after the release of the main batch, that is, additionally. Issued in addition to the underlying securities, these additional securities enjoy the same rights and are subject to similar terms.

Registered securities carry information about the owner. This is included in the general register of all owners of securities of the nth joint-stock company. To transfer the rights to a registered share to a third party, you need to identify the previous owner and notify the shareholder meeting.

Securities issued to bearer, the sale of which is carried out without identification of the owner. The documentary form is as follows: the owner is the person who can present a properly executed security certificate.

Uncertificated form of issue-grade security. Here, the owner is the person recorded in the register of securities owners, or is identified based on the records of the securities account.

Securities Law

The company's shares, placed and declared, must have a quantitative indicator, par value. Shares must give their owner exclusive rights.

Excerpt from Article 27 of the Law “On Shares and Securities”:

The charter of a joint stock company determines the types and categories of shares and securities, the presence/absence of additionally placed shares. If such a rule is absent in the company's charter, it cannot place additionally issued securities.

Authorized shares are placed in a certain order and in accordance with certain conditions. At the general meeting of shareholders, issues related to the issue of shares, such as introducing additions and changes to the charter, are considered.

Excerpts from Article 31 of the Law “On the Rights of Shareholders – Holders of Ordinary Shares”:

All ordinary shares give their owners the same amount of rights. Shareholders have the right to participate in the general meeting of shareholders, they are vested with voting rights - these rights are specified in this Federal Securities Act and are stated in the charter. Also, holders of ordinary shares can receive dividends - payments on shares and can count on part of the organization’s property in the event of its liquidation. The process of converting ordinary shares into any other analogues, including preferred shares, bonds and other securities is not allowed.

publishes on its official website on the Internet information and telecommunications network information about the fact of the issue of securities carried out in violation of the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation on securities, and about the grounds for suspending the placement of securities issued as a result of such issue;

notifies in writing of the need to eliminate violations, and also sets a deadline for eliminating violations;

Clause 5 - Lost force.

8. Professional participants in the securities market and issuers of securities have the right to appeal to the arbitration court the actions of the federal executive body for the securities market to suppress violations of the legislation of the Russian Federation on securities and the application of liability measures in the manner prescribed by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

5) foreign organizations whose securities have undergone the listing procedure on a foreign exchange included in the list approved by the federal executive body for the securities market in accordance with paragraph 4 of this article.

5. Securities of international financial organizations are allowed for public placement and (or) public circulation in the Russian Federation if the terms of their issue do not contain restrictions on the circulation of such securities among an unlimited number of persons and (or) the offer of such securities to an unlimited number of persons.

9. In the case of public placement and (or) public circulation of securities of foreign issuers in the Russian Federation, registration of rights to such securities is carried out by depositories that are legal entities in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and corresponding to the requirements of regulatory legal acts of the federal executive body for the securities market securities to such depositories.

16. Persons who sign the securities prospectus of a foreign issuer on behalf of the foreign issuer are determined in accordance with the personal law of the foreign issuer, and if such an issuer is an international financial organization, in accordance with the constituent documents of this international financial organization.

17. A prospectus for securities of a foreign issuer must be signed by the foreign issuer if such a prospectus is submitted for the admission of securities of a foreign issuer:

1) for placement in the Russian Federation, including public placement;

2) for public circulation in the Russian Federation if the specified securities are not circulated on a foreign organized (regulated) financial market.

21. A Russian stock exchange that has admitted securities of foreign issuers to organized trading is obliged, in the manner and within the time limits established by the regulatory legal acts of the federal executive body for the securities market, to disclose information about such securities, including about their issuers, in a foreign language. language with its subsequent translation into Russian. Subsequent translation of this information into Russian is not required if it is disclosed in a foreign language used in the financial market.

24. The provisions of this Federal Law do not apply to relations related to the placement of securities of foreign issuers in the Russian Federation.

25. Bills of exchange, checks, bills of lading and other similar securities issued in accordance with foreign law may be circulated in the Russian Federation without complying with the conditions provided for in paragraph 1 of this article.

27. Securities of foreign issuers certifying rights in relation to the represented securities of a Russian issuer or a foreign issuer admitted to organized trading on a Russian stock exchange may be admitted to organized trading without concluding an agreement with the issuer of the relevant securities, as well as without submitting a prospectus for such securities papers

2. Qualified investors include:

1) professional participants in the securities market;

1.1) clearing organizations;

2) credit organizations;

7) Bank of Russia;

8) state corporation "Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)";

9) Deposit Insurance Agency;

10) international financial organizations, including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development;

1) the total value of securities owned by this person and (or) the total amount of obligations from contracts that are derivative financial instruments and concluded at the expense of this person comply with the requirements established by the regulatory legal acts of the federal executive body for the securities market. At the same time, the said body determines the requirements for securities and other financial instruments that can be taken into account when calculating the specified total value (total amount of liabilities), as well as the procedure for its (his) calculation;

3) made transactions with securities and (or) entered into agreements that are derivative financial instruments in the quantity, volume and time frame established by the regulatory legal acts of the federal executive body for the securities market.

3) has turnover (revenue) from the sale of goods (work, services) in the amount and for the period established by the regulatory legal acts of the federal executive body for the securities market;

4) has the amount of assets according to accounting data for the last reporting year in the amount established by regulatory legal acts of the federal executive body for the securities market.

Clause 6. - Lost force.

7. Recognition of a person upon his application as a qualified investor is carried out by brokers, managers, and other persons in cases provided for by federal laws (hereinafter referred to as the person recognizing him as a qualified investor), in the manner established by the federal executive body for the securities market.

8. If a person is recognized as a qualified investor on the basis of unreliable information provided by him, the consequences provided for in Article 3 and Part Eight of this Federal Law do not apply. Recognition of a person as a qualified investor on the basis of unreliable information provided by him does not constitute grounds for the invalidity of transactions made at the expense of this person.

1. A repurchase agreement is an agreement under which one party (the seller under the repurchase agreement) undertakes, within the period established by this agreement, to transfer the ownership of securities to the other party (the buyer under the repurchase agreement), and the buyer under the repurchase agreement undertakes to accept the securities and pay for them a certain amount of money (the first part of the repurchase agreement) and under which the buyer under the repurchase agreement undertakes, within the period established by this agreement, to transfer the securities into the ownership of the seller under the repurchase agreement, and the seller under the repurchase agreement undertakes to accept the securities and pay a certain amount for them amount of money (second part of the repurchase agreement).

9. Unless otherwise provided by this article, the buyer under the repurchase agreement is obliged to transfer to the seller under the repurchase agreement under the second part of the repurchase agreement securities of the same issuer (the person who issued the securities), certifying the same volume of rights, in the same quantity as securities transferred to the buyer under a repurchase agreement under the first part of the repurchase agreement.

10. If the securities transferred under the first part of the repurchase agreement have been converted, in pursuance of the second part of the repurchase agreement, the buyer under the repurchase agreement transfers to the seller under the repurchase agreement the securities into which the securities transferred under the first part of the repurchase agreement were converted . This rule also applies to securities received by the buyer under a repurchase agreement in accordance with paragraphs 11 and 12 of this article.

1) conditions and procedure for payment of funds and (or) transfer of securities in accordance with paragraph 14 of this article. In this case, the amount of funds to be paid and (or) the number of securities to be transferred may be determined separately for each repurchase agreement, for a group of repurchase agreements and (or) for all repurchase agreements concluded between the parties on the terms specified in such a master agreement (single agreement ) or such rules;

2) the grounds and procedure for terminating obligations under one repurchase agreement, under a group of repurchase agreements and (or) under all repurchase agreements concluded between the parties on the terms specified by such a general agreement (single agreement) or such rules, including at the request of one of parties in case of non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment by the other party of obligations under the repurchase agreement. In this case, termination of obligations is allowed if one of the conditions provided for in subparagraphs 1 - 3 of paragraph 16 of this article is met.

21. The general provisions of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation on purchase and sale are applied to the repurchase agreement, if this does not contradict the rules of this article and the essence of the repurchase agreement. In this case, the seller under a repurchase agreement and the buyer under a repurchase agreement are recognized as sellers of securities, which they must transfer in fulfillment of obligations under the first and second parts of the repurchase agreement, and buyers of securities, which they must accept and pay in fulfillment of obligations under the first and second parts repurchase agreement

2. If the parties intend to conclude more than one agreement that is a derivative financial instrument, the procedure for concluding such agreements, as well as their individual conditions, can be agreed upon by the parties by concluding a general agreement (single agreement) between them and (or) determined by specifications and ( or) exchange rules and (or) clearing rules. The provisions of the master agreement apply to the relations of the parties in connection with the conclusion and execution (termination) of an agreement that is a derivative financial instrument, if this is provided for by the specified agreement.

3. An agreement that is a derivative financial instrument, as well as a general agreement (single agreement), specification and (or) rules of the exchange and (or) clearing rules may provide that certain terms of such agreement (general agreement, specification or rules of the exchange, rules clearing) are determined by approximate conditions developed for the specified agreement by self-regulatory organizations in the securities market and published in the press or posted on the Internet.

4. The general agreement (single agreement), specification and (or) rules of the exchange and (or) clearing rules may provide for the grounds and procedure for terminating obligations under all contracts that are derivative financial instruments concluded between the parties on the terms established by the specified general agreement ( a single contract), specifications or rules, including at the request of one of the parties in the event of non-fulfillment or improper performance by the other party of obligations under the contract that is a derivative financial instrument. In this case, the procedure for determining the amount of funds (amount of other property) to be transferred by the party (parties) in connection with the termination of obligations under contracts that are derivative financial instruments, as well as the period for such transfer, must be established.

The conclusion of contracts specified in paragraph one of this paragraph not at exchange trading is permitted provided that payment of sums of money, depending on the occurrence of a circumstance indicating non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment by one or more legal entities, states or municipalities of their obligations, is carried out at the expense of credit institution, broker, dealer, and the party entitled to receive such amounts of money, or the person for whose account it acts, is a legal entity.

7. The conclusion of contracts that are derivative financial instruments intended for qualified investors can only be carried out through brokers. This rule does not apply to qualified investors by virtue of federal law, as well as to cases established by the federal executive body for the securities market.

1. If the parties intend to conclude more than one repurchase agreement, and (or) an agreement that is a derivative financial instrument, and (or) an agreement of another type, the object of which is securities and (or) foreign currency, such agreements may be concluded on the terms determined general agreement (single contract). At the same time, the terms of these agreements, as well as the general agreement (single agreement), may provide that their individual terms are determined by the approximate terms of the agreements approved by the self-regulatory organization of professional participants in the securities market and published in the press or posted on the Internet.

1. This Federal Law comes into force on the date of its official publication.

2. To propose to the President of the Russian Federation and instruct the Government of the Russian Federation to bring its regulatory legal acts into compliance with this Federal Law.

The president
Russian Federation
B.YELTSIN

Moscow Kremlin

The Federal Law “On the Securities Market” (hereinafter referred to as the Federal Law “On the Securities Market”) is a regulatory act that is valid throughout Russia and regulates the system of handling securities. The content of the law is very voluminous, because it covers not only the classification of types of securities, but also determines the rights and obligations of market participants, the role of intermediaries, depositories, the control system and much more. The full text of the latest edition of the law can be found at this link. Below will be a list of those social relations that are regulated by law with a brief description of them. This will not give you complete knowledge about the securities market, but it will help you quickly navigate and find the point that interests you in the law.

The law is changeable!

Before moving directly to the description, it is worth noting that the Federal Law “On the Securities Market,” just like most other laws of our country and the world, is constantly changing. Some provisions are added, some are removed. And although the new law is not nominally adopted, many amendments and so-called “empty articles” appear in the old one, which were canceled due to their uselessness. It turns out that it is necessary to read the law in the latest edition, taking into account all the amendments and additions. This article will provide links to the Federal Law “On the Securities Market” for 2014 (the newest), as well as to the law that made the latest changes. This way you will know how the new law differs from the old one.

The Federal Law “On the Securities Market” regulates the following points:

1. The second section of the law provides a list of participants in the securities market, and also defines their competencies, rights and obligations. Thus, there are brokers (intermediaries between a person and the stock exchange), dealers, trustees, depositories (store securities) and registrars. The text of the law provides a complete list of their rights and obligations, which must be studied before engaging directly in trading securities on the stock exchange.

1. Separately, the law contains several articles regulating the activities of foreign shareholders. This part is fundamental and important, because such activities as investing in securities, as a rule, are not limited to a specific country. Thus, an investor can buy shares of companies from the USA, Russia, Germany and the UK, while living in Spain. That is why the rights of foreigners are protected by Federal legislation. As a rule, they work according to the laws of the country in which they are citizens, but there are exceptions. The law also provides a list of countries whose citizens can freely purchase and sell shares on the Russian market.

1. The Federal Law “On the Securities Market” determines the list of documents that are classified as securities (shares, bonds, options), as well as the procedure for payments on them. It is this regulatory act that states that the issuer of bonds is obliged to repay its debt within a specified period, that dividends established by the board of directors are periodically paid on shares, etc.

1. The tendering system is also regulated by this law. It states here who is allowed to trade, what shares can be presented there, how transactions are concluded, and who controls it all.

1. An entire chapter of this law is devoted to the issue of securities. It describes who can initiate an issue, how it needs to be registered and what status the issued securities receive.

1. Information alerts about the securities market are also given great importance. For those who professionally make money on the stock exchange, they constantly need up-to-date information about stock quotes, sales volumes, etc. So, this part of the law states what information is subject to publication in official sources, what can be published, and what is closed and confidential.

1. The last section of the Federal Law is devoted to state regulation and control over compliance with the law in the operation of the securities market. Here you will find a list of powers of regulatory authorities and the activities that can be carried out to ensure the rule of law.

Changes 2014!

In 2014, amendments were made to the Federal Law “On the Securities Market”. There were no fundamentally new or significant amendments. All of them, for the most part, are aimed at improving organization and clarifying some details that may cause difficulties and misunderstandings. You can study all the innovations in detail using the link.

Afterword...

In the end, we can add that studying the legislative framework is an important stage of any business or investment activity, which should not be neglected. Before you start working on the stock exchange, read all the laws related to it. Otherwise, you risk entering into an illegal transaction and losing income.

Federal Law “On the Securities Market” No. 39-FZ of April 22, 1996 (as amended and supplemented)

Federal Law of April 22, 1996 N 39-FZ “On the Securities Market” (as amended on November 26, 1998, July 8, 1999, August 7, 2001, December 28, 2002, June 29, 28 July 2004, March 7, June 18, December 27, 2005, January 5, April 15, July 27, October 16, December 30, 2006, April 26, May 17, October 2, December 6, 2007) . This Federal Law regulates the relations arising during the issue and circulation of issue-grade securities, regardless of the type of issuer, as well as the specifics of the creation and activities of professional participants in the securities market.

An issue-grade security is simultaneously characterized by the following features:

• * secures a set of property and non-property rights;
• * posted in releases;
• * has equal volume and terms of exercise of rights within one issue, regardless of the time of acquisition of the security.

The Law “On the Securities Market” defines the types of licensed professional activities on the securities market: brokerage and dealer activities, securities management activities, activities for determining mutual obligations (clearing), depository activities, activities for maintaining a register of securities owners, activities for organizing trade on the securities market. The provisions of the Law on Professional Participants of the Securities Market, along with the definition of the types of professional activities on the Market Market, establish some significant restrictions regarding their activities, as well as liability for actions leading to losses for clients, or actions that violate the rights of the client (for example, unjustified refusal making an entry in the securities register or avoiding making such an entry). The Law also makes an attempt to prevent conflicts of interests by regulating issues of combining professional activities. In general, it should be noted that one of the main objectives of the Law - suppressing illegal business activities on the securities market, increasing the responsibility of professional participants in this market and issuers for the results of their activities - has been achieved.

The Law also regulates issues of stock exchanges, procedures for issuing securities and its stages, registering the issue of securities, introducing the concept of unfair issue and the liability of the issuer in case of unfair issue.

From the point of view of regulating the circulation of securities, the norms established by the Law for certifying ownership rights to securities, the norms regulating the transfer of rights to securities and the exercise of rights secured by securities have become fundamental.

The law is aimed at protecting the interests of investors, where the key role is played by information openness of issuers of securities and professional participants of the securities market. To this end, the Law defines for the first time the concept of “disclosure of information”, establishes forms of information disclosure and the composition of information that requires mandatory disclosure to all interested parties, regardless of the purpose of obtaining this information according to a procedure that guarantees its location and receipt. It should be noted that the Law as a whole has brought the provision of investors with more complete and reliable information about securities and their issuers to a new qualitative level.

In order to protect investors, the Law introduced rules on the liability of market participants for violations of securities legislation. The responsibility of the issuer's officials for issuing unregistered securities or carrying out an unfair issue has been established; for carrying out professional activities on the securities market without the appropriate license and for manipulating prices by a professional participant in the securities market.

One of the most important in the Law is the section on regulation of securities market. It establishes that state regulation of the securities market is carried out by establishing standards for the activities of issuers and professional participants of the securities market, registering issues of issue-grade securities and monitoring issuers’ compliance with the law during the issue, licensing professional activities on the securities market, as well as prohibiting and suppressing illegal (in particular, unlicensed) activities.

The main powers for state regulation of securities market in accordance with the Law are assigned to the federal executive body for the securities market. In order to increase the efficiency of the system of regulation of the securities market and control the activities of professional market participants, reduce government costs for its regulation and supervision, along with state regulation of the securities market, the Law enshrines the concept and involves the development of self-regulatory organizations of professional participants of the securities market. The latter can develop performance standards for their members (more stringent than those of government agencies) and monitor their implementation by members of the organization.

The law prescribes the specifics of placement and circulation of securities of foreign issuers.

Recent amendments to the Law introduce the concept of a “qualified investor”.