In a significant enforcement action, the SEC sanctioned a private fund manager for failing to establish and maintain adequate policies and procedures to prevent the misuse of material nonpublic information (MNPI) while...more
9/9/2024
/ Collateralized Loan Obligations ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equity ,
Fraud ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
MNPI ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
As reported today, Vice President Harris has announced Tim Walz, the sitting governor of Minnesota, as her running mate. This announcement is particularly significant for investment advisers due to the Advisers Act Political...more
On June 14, 2024, the SEC announced an enforcement action settlement with a Pennsylvania-based hedge fund manager for violating the Marketing Rule under the Investment Advisers Act. The SEC found that the adviser had misled...more
As we reach the midpoint of 2024, the SEC has maintained its rigorous enforcement stance on the private funds industry, proposing new rules and oversight tools to better identify and investigate market practices. As 2024...more
6/14/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Data Retention ,
Employee Training ,
Enforcement ,
Fraud ,
Fund Managers ,
Hedge Funds ,
Indemnification ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Rules ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Funds ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In a significant decision released Wednesday morning, a unanimous three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated what have come to be known as the Private Fund Adviser Rules, a set of rules and...more
The SEC’s recent settlement involving a “pay-to-play” rule violation by a private equity firm is a timely reminder for fund managers, especially with the November elections approaching.
As a refresher, Rule 206(4)-5 of...more
5/29/2024
/ Compliance ,
Employee Training ,
Enforcement ,
Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Political Contributions ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement
In response to rising geopolitical tensions – from the Middle East to the Taiwan Strait to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine –the Biden Administration is increasingly using economic incentives and sanctions to assist the United...more
Hope for a resurgence during 2024 in Venture Capital fundraising, investment, and returns was strong at the beginning of this year, with optimism fueled by the recovery in 2023 of U.S. stock markets (lead by the performance...more
4/30/2024
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
FinCEN ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Markets ,
Terrorist Financing Regulations ,
Venture Capital
The SEC’s new and proposed rules on cybersecurity and cyber-incident reporting will have a dual impact on private investment advisers and funds.
First, the proposal by the SEC will impose cybersecurity related...more
4/18/2024
/ Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Enforcement ,
Governance Standards ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Rules ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Technology Sector
In its final Private Fund Adviser Rules adopted last year, the SEC dropped one of the more controversial proposed rules—the proposal to prohibit contractual exculpation or indemnification provisions that would shield or...more
4/16/2024
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Compliance ,
Enforcement ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Indemnification ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Negligence ,
Private Funds ,
Releases ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Adviser-led secondary transactions have seen explosive growth over the last five years. That growth has brought increased regulatory concerns over the conflicts of interests inherent in these transactions and a perceived...more
2023’s excitement for generative artificial intelligence (AI) prompted the SEC to respond on multiple fronts – stump speeches, rulemaking, new exam priorities and sweeps and previewing potential enforcement actions. SEC Chair...more
ESG continues to be a hot topic for 2024 for investors and regulators alike. The specific concerns investors and regulators have – and what they expect to develop over the coming months – differ, however, across...more
4/1/2024
/ Breach of Duty ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Statements ,
Form 10-K ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Greenwashing ,
Investors ,
Jurisdiction ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation S-K ,
Regulation S-X ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sustainability ,
UK
Economic headwinds and the interest rate environment that developed over the course of 2023 increased financial stress on portfolio companies and portend heightened litigation risk in 2024 for portfolio companies and their...more
In a wave of SEC rulemaking this past year, representing a “new world order” event akin to Dodd-Frank, the SEC has provided itself with a fresh set of tools to increase regulatory and enforcement scrutiny on private funds....more
3/26/2024
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
New Amendments ,
New Rules ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
To understand the litigation and regulatory risks that are coming in 2024 for private capital, it is helpful to look back briefly on recent events. Arguably, the single most important event over the last 18 months was the...more
3/19/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Asset Management ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fund Managers ,
Hedge Funds ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Technology Sector
The SEC’s recent enforcement settlement involving a fund manager highlights the SEC’s focus on an investor’s “control purpose” triggering the requirement to file on a Schedule 13D as opposed to a short-form 13G. At issue was...more
3/8/2024
/ Enforcement ,
Fund Managers ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investors ,
Passive Investments ,
Private Equity Firms ,
Schedule 13D ,
Schedule 13G ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Litigation ,
Settlement ,
Swap Agreements
On November 14, 2023, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement announced its Enforcement Results for Fiscal Year 2023. Below are some key takeaways for fund managers:
The Commission brought 760 total enforcement actions in FY...more
11/21/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Noncompliance ,
Private Funds ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
Since 2015, the SEC has brought nearly two dozen enforcement actions for violations of the whistleblower protection rules under Rule 21F-17(a) against employers for actions taken to impede reporting to the SEC. The bulk of...more
10/19/2023
/ Carve Out Provisions ,
Compliance ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Penalties ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Separation Agreement ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The SEC suffered a significant loss last week in its ongoing legal battle with Ripple over the XRP digital token. While the District Court held that Ripple’s initial sales of XRP to institutional investors constituted the...more
7/18/2023
/ Blockchain ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Digital Assets ,
FinTech ,
Hedge Funds ,
Howey ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Investors ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unregistered Securities
This Webinar aims to provide some practical advice regarding Generative AI (“Gen AI”) and the issues its presents for private fund managers related to securities law and compliance. To the presenters, this is an dynamic time...more
The gloves are off. The SEC’s recent enforcement actions against leading crypto exchanges suggest that the SEC has decided that time’s up for the crypto industry as it currently exists in the United States....more
6/15/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Clearing Agencies ,
Coinbase ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Howey ,
Infrastructure ,
Popular ,
Securities ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Simple Agreement for Future Tokens (SAFT)
On November 4, 2022, compliance with amended Rule 206(4)-1 (the “Marketing Rule”) became mandatory for all investment advisers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Seven months since the...more
As we reported here, on May 5, 2023, the SEC issued an award of $279 million to a whistleblower. This is the largest award the SEC has issued to an individual whistleblower in the history of the SEC Office of the...more
Recent enforcement actions highlight the increased regulatory scrutiny that private funds may face with respect to internal cybersecurity protocols and responses to cyber-crimes and cyber incidents under new and updated...more
5/23/2023
/ Coinbase ,
Compliance ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Cybersecurity ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Privacy Laws ,
Private Funds ,
Robinhood Financial ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)