Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 32 > Article 2 - Registration of Broker-Dealers and Agents; Registration and Notice Filing for Investment Advisers

• Agent: means any individual other than a broker-dealer who represents a broker-dealer or issuer in effecting or attempting to effect purchases or sales of securities. See West Virginia Code 32-4-401
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Branch office: means any location other than the main office, identified to the public, customers or clients as a location where a broker-dealer or investment adviser or federal-covered adviser conducts a securities or investment adviser business. See West Virginia Code 32-4-401
• Broker-dealer: means any person engaged in the business of effecting transactions in securities for the account of others or for his or her own account. See West Virginia Code 32-4-401
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Embezzlement: In most states, embezzlement is defined as theft/larceny of assets (money or property) by a person in a position of trust or responsibility over those assets. Embezzlement typically occurs in the employment and corporate settings. ^{Source: OCC}
• Federal-covered adviser: means a person who is: (1) Registered under section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 or (2) is excluded from the definition of "investment advisor" under section two hundred two-a (11) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. See West Virginia Code 32-4-401
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Investment adviser: means any person who, for compensation, engages in the business of advising others, either directly or through publications or writings, as to the value of securities or as to the advisability of investing in, purchasing or selling securities or who, for compensation and as a part of a regular business, issues or promulgates analyses or reports concerning securities. See West Virginia Code 32-4-401
• Investment adviser representative: means any partner, officer, director of or a person occupying a similar status or performing similar functions or other individual, except clerical or ministerial personnel, who is employed by or associated with an investment adviser that is registered or required to be registered under this chapter or who has a place of business located in this state and is employed by or associated with a federal-covered adviser. See West Virginia Code 32-4-401
• Issuer: means any person who issues or proposes to issue any security, except that: (1) With respect to certificates of deposit, voting-trust certificates or collateral-trust certificates or with respect to certificates of interest or shares in an unincorporated investment trust not having a board of directors or persons performing similar functions or of the fixed, restricted management or unit type, the term "issuer" means the person or persons performing the acts and assuming the duties of depositor or manager pursuant to the provisions of the trust or other agreement or instrument under which the security is issued. See West Virginia Code 32-4-401
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Person: means an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an association, a joint-stock company, a trust where the interests of the beneficiaries are evidenced by a security, an unincorporated organization, a government or a political subdivision of a government. See West Virginia Code 32-4-401
• Security: means any note. See West Virginia Code 32-4-401
• sell: includes every contract of sale of, contract to sell, or disposition of a security or interest in a security for value. See West Virginia Code 32-4-401
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• State: means any state, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. See West Virginia Code 32-4-401