The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed amendments to Rule 206(4)-1 – Advertisements by Investment Advisers (Current Advertising Rule) and Rule 206(4)-3 – Cash Payments for Client Solicitations (Current...more
2/3/2020
/ Advertising ,
Cash Solicitation Rule ,
Form ADV ,
Institutional Investors ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retail Investors ,
SEC Advertising Rule ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on June 5, 2019, voted 3-1 in favor of adopting a package of rules, amendments and interpretations (Final Rules) intended to improve the retail investor experience and to provide...more
6/12/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Conduct
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on May 23, 2019, which identifies security risks and best practices associated with the...more
6/10/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cloud Storage ,
Customer Information ,
Cybersecurity ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Network Security ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Risk ,
Vendors
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on March 11, 2019 that it had settled charges against 79 investment advisers in connection with its Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSD Initiative). This...more
4/11/2019
/ Asset Management ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSD) ,
Share Class Structures ,
Share Classes ,
SIFMA
Through a March 12, 2019 letter (Letter), Paul Cellupica, Deputy Director and Chief Counsel of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management, on behalf of the Division’s staff invited industry engagement and sought information...more
3/23/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Comment Period ,
Custody Rule ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Guidance Update ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Non-DVP ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on December 14, 2018 concerning the use of electronic messaging by registered...more
1/25/2019
/ Books & Records ,
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Commercial Electronic Messages ,
Compliance ,
Data Security ,
Electronic Communications ,
Employee Training ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supervision ,
Third-Party
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 18, 2018 published a package of proposed rules and interpretations intended to improve the retail investor experience and to provide greater clarity regarding customers’...more
7/11/2018
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Comment Period ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Products ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Care
On April 18, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 4-1 to propose a package of rules and interpretations (Proposals) intended to improve the retail investor experience and to provide greater clarity...more
4/20/2018
/ 401k ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Comment Period ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Standard of Care
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on March 15, 2018 issued an opinion (Opinion) vacating the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule and related applicable exemptions. The DOL had promulgated the rule and...more
4/18/2018
/ Appeals ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mutual Funds ,
Petition For Rehearing ,
Retirement Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Vacated
Although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff is currently drafting proposed rules relating to the standard of conduct for broker-dealers and investment advisers, several states have decided not to wait for...more
4/4/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Planning ,
Investment Adviser ,
Popular ,
Retirement Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State and Local Government
It has been a long and winding road for the amended fiduciary regulation (the "Regulation") and the related new and amended exemptions (collectively, the "Rule") of the U.S. Department of Labor (the "DOL") under the Employee...more
3/26/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Lack of Authority ,
Retirement Funds ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trump Administration ,
Vacated
The Division of Enforcement (Division) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 12, 2018, announced a Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSD Initiative). Led by the Division’s Asset...more
3/7/2018
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSD) ,
Share Classes
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) recently released a report examining the regulatory framework for the asset management and insurance industries (Report). The Report is the third in a series of four reports that...more
12/5/2017
/ Asset Management ,
CFTC ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Derivatives ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Stability Board ,
FSOC ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Liquidity Risk Management Rule ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Burden ,
Retirement Plan ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIFIs ,
Stress Tests ,
Systemic Risk Buffer ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Volcker Rule
In a letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton, the Investment Company Institute (ICI) formally requested a delay and re-examination of certain elements of Rule 22e-4 under the Investment...more
8/18/2017
/ Delays ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form N-CEN ,
Form N-PORT ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Liquidity Risk Management Rule ,
Reporting Modernization Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Request for Examination ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The October 1, 2017 compliance date for the amendments to Form ADV and to rule 204-2 (Recordkeeping Rule), as well as technical amendments to other rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act) (collectively,...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule on April 7, 2017 (Final Extension),1 delaying for 60 days the applicability date of the new rule defining who is a fiduciary under ERISA (Fiduciary Rule)2 and related...more
In response to a request for interpretative guidance, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff (staff) advised on January 11, 2017 that Section 22(d) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 does not prevent a broker...more
2/2/2017
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Brokers ,
Clean Shares ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Interpretive Opinions ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Mutual Funds ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued in April 2016 the final version of its controversial “investment advice” regulation and various related exemptions (collectively, Final Rules), which are widely expected to have a...more
11/18/2016
/ Annuities ,
Asset Management ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compensation Agreements ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retirement Plan
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) has unanimously adopted new rules and rule amendments to require registered open-end investment companies (including exchange traded funds and exchange-traded...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued the final version of its “fiduciary investment advice” regulation (Final Rule) on April 6, 2016, following a lengthy proposal and re-proposal process. Although the Final Rule reflects...more
10/25/2016
/ 401k ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Delays ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Mutual Funds ,
Retirement Plan
Earlier today, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unanimously adopted a new rule and amendments to certain rules and forms that will require registered open-end investment companies, including mutual funds and...more
10/14/2016
/ Amended Regulation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Form N-PORT ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Management ,
Liquidity Risk Management Rule ,
New Regulations ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swing Pricing
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently adopted amendments to Form ADV and to Rule 204-2 (Recordkeeping Rule), as well as technical amendments to other rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940...more
9/16/2016
/ Chief Compliance Officers ,
Derivatives ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Final Rules ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
RAUM ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SMAs ,
Social Media ,
Special Purpose Entities ,
Umbrella Registration
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued the final version of its “investment advice” regulation (Final Rule), which is widely expected to impact significantly the financial services industry, including registered investment...more
8/30/2016
/ 401k ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Distribution Rules ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Adviser ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Mutual Funds ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs)
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) on April 6, 2016 released the final version of its “investment advice” regulation and accompanying prohibited transaction exemptions, a highly-anticipated milestone that is the...more
5/27/2016
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Brokers ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Final Rules ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retirement Plan