On September 27, 2022, 15 broker-dealers and one investment adviser agreed to pay more than $1.8 billion in total civil penalties to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and, for those same companies or affiliates...more
10/5/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Dealers ,
Swaps ,
Text Messages
On June 30, 2022 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought a settled enforcement case against a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) and a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). At first glance, the case appears...more
9/9/2022
/ Aiding and Abetting ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Officers ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Personal Liability ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities Violations
Many compliance officers believe they have targets on their backs. Indeed, according to industry-wide surveys conducted by the National Society of Compliance Professional (NSCP), 72% of compliance professionals are concerned...more
On July 21, 2022, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed an indictment charging Ishan Wahi (Wahi), a former product manager at a large cryptocurrency trading platform (the Platform) - along with his brother Nikhil Wahi...more
7/28/2022
/ Conspiracies ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Indictments ,
Insider Trading ,
Popular ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wire Fraud
Last week, yet another US Department of Justice (DOJ) official reportedly stated new corporate settlements “most likely” will include a requirement that the company’s chief compliance officer (CCO), as well as the chief...more
As investors have piled into ESG-friendly mutual funds over the past several years, the SEC has begun ratcheting up scrutiny of the representations made by the advisers of those ESG investment funds. This week, the SEC...more
5/26/2022
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment Funds ,
Mutual Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
Two recent decisions have put the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) in-house administrative proceedings in the crosshairs. First, on May 16, 2022, the US Supreme Court agreed to consider whether Administrative Law...more
On January 13, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced settled charges against CMG Capital Management Group, Inc. (CMG), a registered investment adviser for failing to adopt and implement policies and...more
In the second full week of the new year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) settled an administrative action against Comprehensive Capital Management (CCM), a registered investment adviser, for, among other...more
On January 27, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision in United States v. Connolly, overturning the 2018 fraud convictions of two former traders at a large financial institution. A...more
2/4/2022
/ Appeals ,
Bank Fraud ,
British Bankers' Association ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
False Statements ,
Fraud ,
Libor ,
Misleading Statements ,
Reversal ,
UK ,
Wire Fraud
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, d/b/a Mark Twain, was the author of many outstanding (and often humorous) books and short stories that had good guys (e.g., Huck, Jim and Tom), bad guys (e.g., Pap Finn; the Duke and the Dauphin, who...more
During the past six months, the US Treasury, the US banking agencies, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have pursued several regulatory or enforcement initiatives...more
During the past few months, the US Treasury, the US banking agencies, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have pursued several regulatory or enforcement initiatives...more
1/21/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Banking Regulators ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Information Reports ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Working Groups
You know what the happiest animal on Earth is? It's a goldfish. Y'know why? It's got a 10-second memory. Be a goldfish.
During the pandemic, we have had a lot of lows, as well as a few highs. And that’s just in pop...more
12/9/2021
/ Arbitration ,
Corporate Communications ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mutual Funds ,
Net Capital Rule ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Rollover Equity ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
FINRA has recently taken steps to advance diversity and inclusion in the broker-dealer industry.
Regulatory Notice 21-17 -
On April 29, 2021, FINRA issued Regulatory Notice 21-17, seeking comments on supporting...more
When you think about it, puns are kind of like securities enforcement actions. They could make you groan; they could make you laugh (if the conduct is particularly goofy) (or if you don’t like the respondent); or they often...more
Many of us watched Friends when it was originally broadcast using our rabbit ear antennas or through basic cable. Others watched it on reruns. While, more recently, some of us (or our children) watched on Netflix or, even...more
During the past couple of months, film fans got to see a recut version of The Godfather Part III called, Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. Francis Ford Coppola, the director and co-screenwriter...more
Often, there are quotes, spellings, symbols, events, or experiences that many of us “know” occurred, but which did not actually happen. This phenomenon is known as the “Mandela Effect,” or “collective false memory.” Its name...more
The SEC’s Division of Enforcement is likely to be active in 2020, investigating several issues important to broker-dealers and investment advisers.
In this Bottom Line videocast, Brian Rubin and Adam Pollet discuss:
Cash...more
2/18/2020
/ 403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Asset Management ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Firms ,
Investment Funds ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Coming on the heels of the share class initiative, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is at the initial stages of another initiative involving concerns about adviser disclosures and conflicts related to bank...more
11/22/2019
/ Asset Management ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
FDIC ,
Government Securities ,
Liquidity ,
Management Fees ,
Money Market Funds ,
Net Capital Rule ,
OCC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
On September 24, 2019, in response to a request for clarification by certain industry groups, the Indiana Attorney General’s Office issued a Memorandum of Legal Guidance (the “MLG”) confirming that the amendments to the...more
Along with other regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has been signaling its intention to pursue those in the cryptocurrency sphere that it believes are capitalizing on the excitement and novelty of...more
On March 29, 2018, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (the CFP Board) adopted a revised Code of Ethics (the Code) and Standards of Conduct (the Standards) that require a certified financial planner (CFP)...more
Last week, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and its regulatory partners issued a joint statement in an effort to increase transparency around risk-focused Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering supervision....more