The November 4, 2022, deadline for advisers to implement amended Rule 206(4)-1 (Marketing Rule) and related rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 is fast approaching. Advisers required to comply with the rule are...more
10/24/2022
/ Advertising ,
Amended Rules ,
Cash Solicitation Rule ,
Compliance ,
Endorsements ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Marketing ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Funds ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Testimonial Statements
The Securities and Exchange Commission recently brought two enforcement actions that highlight the SEC’s focus on the investment adviser fiduciary duties, particularly as applied to recommendations that clients open or remain...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission on June 15, 2022 requested comments related to information providers (such as index providers, model portfolio providers and pricing services) whose activities the SEC believes may bring...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission on February 9, 2022, voted three to one to propose a set of new rules and rule amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 that collectively, if adopted, would represent the...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Examinations (Division) released a risk alert on November 9, 2021 (Risk Alert) discussing the staff’s observations and findings from the Division’s recent electronic investment advice...more
Although the loan industry has long looked at loans as being obligations that arise in a commercial lending relationship, which are therefore not securities under Federal and state securities laws, the law supporting this...more
6/2/2020
/ Blue Sky Laws ,
Collateralized Loan Obligations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Debt Securities ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Reves Test ,
Secured Notes ,
Securities ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Syndicated Loans
A registered investment adviser (RIA) that has “custody” of client funds or securities must comply with the provisions of Rule 206(4)-2 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Rule), including those related to the use of a...more
4/3/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Custodian of Records ,
Custody Rule ,
Division of Investment Management ,
Filing Requirements ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Private Offerings ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Relief Measures ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Verification Requirements
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 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
In connection with the public roundtable on the proxy voting process (Roundtable) held by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 15, 2018, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (IM...more
12/19/2018
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Governance ,
Due Diligence ,
Glass Lewis ,
Influencers ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
No-Action Letters ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Voting ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Roundtable ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Withdrawal
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on July 11, 2018. The Risk Alert highlights OCIE’s observations of compliance issues...more
8/3/2018
/ Best Execution ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
OCIE ,
Risk Alert ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
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 staff of the Division of Investment Management (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a Guidance Update (Guidance) on February 23, 2017, on the subject of automated investment advisers...more
3/15/2017
/ Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Division of Investment Management ,
Guidance Update ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Management ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Robo-Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Investment advisers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may use a variety of business and organizational models, which may include structures with one or more branch offices. In announcing its...more
The staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated in August that it intends to permit the expiration of rule 206(3)-3T (Rule) under the Investment Adviser Act of 1940 (Advisers Act). The SEC originally...more
A settled enforcement action, announced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 14, 2016, continues the trend of increased SEC scrutiny of private equity advisers concerning the allocation and...more
10/21/2016
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Discounts ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fund Expenses ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
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 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 28, 2016, proposed new Rule 206(4)-4 (Proposed Rule) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act). The Proposed Rule would require every SEC-registered...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a final order (Order) on June 14, 2016, to adjust for inflation the “qualified client” thresholds applicable when a registered investment adviser charges a performance fee in...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 1, 2016 announced a settled enforcement action against a private equity fund manager (Adviser) for acting as a broker-dealer without registering. The case is...more
6/15/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Mergers ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Unregistered Brokers
Marc Wyatt, Director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), indicated on November 20, 2015 that the OCIE staff is now examining “Exempt Reporting Advisers”...more
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 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) recently proposed amendments to Form ADV and to Rule 204-2 (Recordkeeping Rule) and other rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (Advisers...more
7/17/2015
/ CCO ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
RAUM ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media ,
Umbrella Registration