The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey recently issued its post-trial ruling in Kasilag et al. v. Hartford Investment Financial Services, LLC et al. The Hartford ruling is the second post-trial Section 36(b)...more
In a Guidance Update published on December 15, 2016, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Investment Management (Staff) articulated its views as to certain disclosure issues and...more
12/23/2016
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fee Disclosure ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Guidance Update ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Mutual Funds ,
New Guidance ,
Sales Load Variations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Class Structures
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
Mutual fund sales and distribution arrangements are once again under review. It has been reported that fund intermediaries are re-examining their practices relating to sales charges, share class structures and product...more
10/26/2016
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Intermediaries ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Mutual Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Service Charges
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
Divisions of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on August 8, 2016 issued letters restricting futures commission merchants (FCMs) and derivatives clearing organizations (DCOs) from investing in money market...more
9/15/2016
/ CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Derivatives Clearing Organizations ,
DSIO ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Investment ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Money Market Funds ,
No-Action Letters ,
Rule 2a-7 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Redemption
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 Financial Stability Board (FSB), an international body established by the G-20 in response to the 2008 financial crisis, on June 22, 2016 released its third Consultative Document relating to the regulation and oversight...more
The Financial Stability Board (FSB), which was established by the G-20 in response to the 2008 financial crisis, on June 22, 2016 issued proposed specific recommendations to address certain perceived threats that the asset...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is once again taking a close look at member firm mutual fund sales practices and sales charge waivers (Mutual Fund Waiver Sweep) in the U.S. FINRA’s target exam letter seeks...more
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
The April 14, 2016 compliance date for certain new money market fund (money funds) requirements adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is quickly approaching. In particular, money funds will be required...more
The staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Division of Investment Management (Staff) published a Guidance Update on January 6, 2016 related to mutual fund distribution and sub-accounting fees. In the...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently adopted amendments (Amendments) to remove references to credit ratings in Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (1940 Act), the primary rule...more
11/10/2015
/ ABS ,
Asset Diversification ,
Bonds ,
Diversification Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Money Market Funds ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
NRSRO ,
Repurchases ,
Rule 2a-7 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) issued a cease and desist order (Order) on June 23, 2015, against Pekin Singer Strauss Asset Management Inc. (Adviser), an investment adviser registered under...more
8/6/2015
/ Asset Management ,
CCO ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Officers ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Fraud ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Funds ,
Policy Violations ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Tone At The Top
The Staff of the Division of Investment Management (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) has published responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the SEC’s 2014 amendments...more
6/17/2015
/ Amortization ,
Capital Contributions ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Division of Investment Management ,
Floating NAV ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Companies ,
Liquidity Fees ,
Money Market Funds ,
NAV ,
New Amendments ,
Redemption Gates ,
Reorganizations ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Seed Financing ,
Websites
The July 14, 2015 compliance date for certain new money market fund reporting and disclosure requirements adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is quickly approaching. In particular, money market funds...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved sweeping amendments to Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and other rules governing the operations of money market funds (money funds)...more
Following the adoption by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) of amendments to the rules governing U.S. money market funds (“MMFs”), the focus is shifting to Europe. In fact, the prospects for sensible MMF...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) on July 23, 2014 approved, by a vote of 3- 2, sweeping amendments to Rule 2a - 7 and other rules that govern money market funds (money funds) under the...more
Yesterday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), by a vote of 3 to 2, approved amendments to Rule 2a-7 and other rules that govern money market funds under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Amendments”)....more
The Supreme Court of the United States on March 4, 2014 held that employees of a privately-held mutual fund investment adviser are protected under a whistleblower provision enacted as part of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002...more
The Division of Investment Management (“Division”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently published guidance (“Guidance”) addressing steps that funds and fund advisers should consider in light of...more
2/14/2014
/ Banking Sector ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Federal Reserve ,
Fixed Income Investments ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Market Making ,
Market Risk Capital Rule ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Volcker Rule
The Financial Stability Board (FSB), in consultation with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), issued “Assessment Methodologies for Identifying Non-Bank Non-Insurer Global Systemically Important...more
This OnPoint describes the role of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (Division) in uncovering the alleged fraud through an analytical review of the Fund’s performance data and portfolio information. It then...more
12/19/2013
/ Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investor Protection ,
OCIE ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Risk Assessment ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud