Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) and Gamification: Your Questions Answered
Summer Enforcement Action Review; Raising Money in a Pandemic - Investment Management Roundtable Discussion
Investment Management and Private Funds Roundtable – June 2020
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – FinTech initiatives
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Fiduciary investment advice: The patchwork emerges
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – SEC enforcement
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Complying with new SEC rules for broker-dealers
Investment Management Roundtable Discussion – Regulatory and Enforcement Update
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Establishing An Investment Platform Post-Regulation BI
Investment Management Update - Focus on Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
On July 8, FINRA accepted a firm’s Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent imposing a censure and a $300,000 fine. The firm is a wholesale distributor of variable insurance products and mutual funds. Between March 2018 and...more
Suitability in the sale of annuity products has been a topic of state regulation since at least 2003 - well before the federal focus on “Best Interest.” State insurance regulators have overseen the sale of annuities to ensure...more
For broker-dealers distributing and selling variable annuities, examinations will test for compliance with Reg BI and FINRA Rule 2330 because both standards apply to variable annuity sales. Firms distributing and selling...more
Sales of fee-based annuities have soared in recent years. However, the financial planners and investment advisers that use them with clients may be unknowingly exposing themselves to future enforcement action from state...more
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
FINRA’s reported enforcement actions as to certain variable annuity practices increased in 2018. For example, FINRA announced more than half a dozen settlements – via Letters of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWCs) – for...more
The US dialed up the heat in its trade war with China even further last night, announcing the imposition of tariffs by September 24th on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. When combined with the existing...more
In late 2017, FINRA pronounced in Regulatory Notice 17-30 that, "Beginning on October 1, 2018, unregistered persons cannot accept an order from a customer under any circumstances. ...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a case in which UBS Puerto Rico sought to overcome its insurance carriers' refusal to defend and provide coverage for two civil actions, settlements with the SEC and FINRA...more
EXPECTFOCUS is a quarterly review of developments in the insurance and financial services industry, provided on a complimentary basis to clients and friends of Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A. ...more
FINRA Rule 4530(a) requires member firms to promptly report certain enumerated events. Rule 4530(b) is less specific, with supplemental guidance advising that a firm should report when it concludes or reasonably should have...more
On November 24, while everyone was recuperating from their Thanksgiving feast, the NAIC's Annuity Suitability Working Group circulated the Working Group Chair's draft of proposed revisions to the Suitability in Annuity...more
For the first time since 2004, FINRA has proposed major amendments to its requirements that govern the terms of the underwriting arrangements for most public offerings of securities and mandate that such arrangements be...more
FINRA has taken another step to protect against what it calls "financial exploitation of vulnerable individuals or individuals with diminished capacity." These include seniors (at least age 65) and persons (at least age 18)...more
Regulators Demand Third-Party Risk Management - While third-party risk management has been a required component of an effective enterprise risk management program for many years, the topic is receiving elevated attention...more
Broker-dealers, including principal underwriters of insurance products, may retain required records in electronic format, subject to satisfaction of longstanding conditions. One such condition is that the records must be...more
Private Fund Advisers, Robo-Advisers, ETFs Among SEC, FINRA Exam Priorities for 2017 - As the new year begins, U.S. regulators highlighted the areas – some new and some familiar – which will be the focus of their...more
- Should Your Company Purchase Bitcoin to Pay a Cyber Ransom? - NAIC Draws Line in CFPB Sandbox - NAIC’s Big Data Task Force Sets Charges for 2017 - Broker-Dealers Can Hold Customers’ Initial Checks ...more
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) has established a dedicated team charged specifically with inspecting FINRA and other FINRA-related work. This follows through on the SEC’s...more
In late October, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced a sweep examination of broker-dealers targeting cross-selling programs similar to those that recently resulted in Wells Fargo’s payment of an $185...more
For two years FINRA has made sales and marketing of L-Share variable annuities (VAs) a regulatory and examination priority. Not surprisingly, FINRA in November announced settled actions against eight broker-dealers, alleging...more
This special report provides a summary of some of the significant changes and developments that occurred in the past year in the private equity and hedge funds space, as well as certain recommended practices that investment...more
- AXA Prevails at First Post-Jones v. Harris Excessive Fee Trial - Potential Secondary Effects of Regulatory Examinations: Evidentiary Issues and Preclusion in Parallel Litigation - On The Horizon: Global...more
On August 5, FINRA proposed amendments to its gifts rule (Rule 3220) along with new rules to replace the current provisions governing noncash compensation (new Rule 3221) and business entertainment (new Rule 3222). These...more
- Fed Takes First Steps Toward Setting Capital Requirements for Some Insurers - New Wave of COI Rate Increase Lawsuits Hits the Industry - STOLI Policies Cancelled, Insurers Retain Premium -...more