On March 18, 2024, the SEC announced—in videos posted on YouTube and Twitter—regulatory actions against two investment advisers for “AI washing,” a practice defined by the SEC as “making false artificial intelligence-related...more
Welcome to the latest issue of Bracewell’s FINRA Facts and Trends, a monthly newsletter devoted to condensing and digesting recent FINRA developments in the areas of enforcement, regulation and dispute resolution. This...more
The 2023 Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s (SIFMA) Compliance & Legal Annual Seminar, as usual, was well attended by compliance and legal professionals, including FINRA executives and SEC directors. The...more
I attended the four-day SIFMA Compliance and Legal seminar last week, and there were a bunch of interesting soundbites from regulators that folks might find interesting. The challenge at these conferences is always...more
As it was for the rest of the world, 2021 was an interesting year for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Originally published in American Bar Association’s Securities Litigation section - March 17th,...more
F. Scott Fitzgerald said “There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired.” FINRA may be all of these in 2022, as FINRA CEO Robert Cook announced FINRA’s laundry list of priorities during a SIFMA Q&A last...more
Shearman & Sterling is pleased to announce the publication of the SIFMA investment-grade bond optional redemption model provision. After assembling a working group of investment banks operating in the U.S. and global capital...more
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) recently proposed sweeping modernization of industry self-regulatory rules to reflect firms’ successful pivot to remote operations over the past year. SIFMA...more
In a year-end change of course, the SEC identified the minimum steps that broker-dealers must take when acting as custodians of digital asset securities. On December 23, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...more
The no-action relief applies to family offices with at least US$50 million in total assets (Institutional Family Offices) and requires broker-dealers seeking to rely on the relief to establish and maintain specific additional...more
U.S. Developments - Legislation - Congress Members Introduce Stablecoin Legislation - On December 2, 2020, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Congressmen Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04) and Chairman of Task Force on...more
Last year the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”). Reg BI requires broker-dealers and their associated persons to act in “the best interest” of a retail customer when...more
REGULATORY UPDATES - Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) Releases Its 2019 Priorities - On January 22, 2019, FINRA released its Annual Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter, which highlighted the...more
Last Thursday, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) submitted proposed rules to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) designed to address “financial exploitation of seniors and other...more
The SEC has launched a dedicated team to oversee FINRA, according to remarks by Marc Wyatt, Director of the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”). Congress has vested the SEC with the power to...more
Highlights from FINRA/SIFMA Senior Investor Conference - On October 22-23, members of the securities industry, academia, regulators, and public policy experts gathered in Washington, D.C., at the joint Financial...more
Final rule reflects some concessions, but its broad scope and compliance costs will cause financial services advisers to re-evaluate their business models. On April 6, 2016, the US Department of Labor (the DOL) released...more
Recently, attorneys from K&L Gates’ Government Enforcement practice group attended the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s (“SIFMA”) Compliance and Legal Society Annual Seminar. We wanted to share with you...more
Regulatory Developments - Client Alert: SEC Issues New Guidance on Excluding Shareholder Proposals under Rule 14a-8: Goodwin Procter’s Capital Markets practice has released a client alert on the SEC’s Division of...more
Earlier this month, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (“SIFMA”) released its “Proposed Best Interests of the Customer Standard for Broker-Dealers” – an alternative to the U.S. Department of Labor’s...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a controversial proposed rule on April 20, 2015, that seeks to expand fiduciary duties in the context of retirement-investment advice. Specifically, the proposed rule would rework a...more
Recently, partners from K&L Gates’ Government Enforcement, Broker-Dealer and Investment Management practice groups attended the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s (“SIFMA”) Compliance and Legal Society...more
The federal budget sequester and recent Supreme Court decision in Gabelli et al. v. Securities and Exchange Commission, 568 U.S. ____ (2013), will not substantially slow down regulators’ enforcement efforts, according to...more
On January 11, 2013, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued its annual Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter (Priorities Letter) to member firms, which highlights its primary areas of focus for the...more