On October 11, 2019, the leaders of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a...more
11/13/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Bitcoin ,
Broker-Dealer ,
BSA/AML ,
CFTC ,
Digital Assets ,
Ether ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Information Reports ,
Joint Statements ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
[co-presenter: Pooja Kohli, Litigation Specialist]
Firms that are dually-registered are subject to special considerations under the SEC’s new Regulation Best Interest when offering both advisory and brokerage accounts.
In...more
The SEC’s new Regulation Best Interest will require broker-dealers to consider whether their existing investment platforms are designed to result in recommendations to retail customers that are in such customers’ best...more
On September 26, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it has adopted the eagerly awaited new rule 6c-11 (the Rule) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act) that allows most...more
On August 21, 2019, in a 3-2 vote, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted in favor of publishing guidance (guidance) regarding the proxy voting responsibilities of investment advisers (IAs). The guidance,...more
On March 29, 2018, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (the CFP Board) adopted a revised Code of Ethics (the Code) and Standards of Conduct (the Standards) that require a certified financial planner (CFP)...more
As anticipated, this year has seen a number of fiduciary and best interest investment advice regulations advance at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations will face challenges in dealing with...more
On June 5, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted its Regulation Best Interest (Rule 15l-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), a rule that requires a broker-dealer registered with the SEC to act...more
Today, in a 3-1 vote, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a comprehensive package of rulemakings and interpretations governing the standard of conduct applicable to broker-dealers providing retail...more
6/10/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Retail Investors ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Transactions ,
Standard of Conduct
On Friday, May 31, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hosted a forum (the FinTech Forum) to discuss financial technology developments, including blockchain and distributed ledger technology and...more
6/7/2019
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Capital Formation ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Ether ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinHub ,
FinTech ,
Forum ,
Investment Management ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Admittedly, it is not one of those “Do you remember where you were when it happened?” moments (for those old enough to remember, think November 16, 1981, when Luke and Laura married), but for the broker-dealer and investment...more
With the recent announcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it will hold an open meeting on June 5, 2019, to consider adopting Regulation Best Interest, one of the major issues that the SEC may clarify...more
By all accounts, 2019 will see a number of fiduciary and best interest investment advice regulations advance at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations will face challenges in dealing with rules...more
5/21/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On April 29, 2019, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit comment on whether it should issue a formal proposal to expand the reach of its...more
5/17/2019
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Banks ,
Custody ,
de facto Administrators ,
Executors ,
Federal Savings Associations ,
Fiduciary ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
Trustees
By all accounts, 2019 will see the advancement of a number of fiduciary and best interest investment advice regulations at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations will face challenges in dealing...more
4/2/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Broker-dealers selling annuity products in New York will soon need to comply with new best interest requirements imposed by New York’s amended Insurance Regulation 187. These requirements, which will take effect for annuities...more
The Share Class Initiative -
On February 12, 2018, the Division of Enforcement of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (Initiative), which informed SEC...more
On February 12, 2018, the Division of Enforcement of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (Initiative) to encourage SEC registered investment advisers...more
On December 27, 2017, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYS-DFS), the regulatory authority for the insurance industry in New York, published a proposal (New York Proposal) to add a “best interest” standard to...more
On July 13, 2017, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) held a Blockchain Symposium (the Symposium) in which representatives from a number of US regulators discussed the work they have undertaken to assess...more
Introduction -
In addition to the recent increase in regulatory focus on senior investors, earlier this fall, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) filed a rulemaking proposal (the filing) with the...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
On August 25, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) adopted amendments to Form ADV Part 1 that will require SEC-registered investment advisers to provide a significant amount of new information. The SEC adopted...more
On February 9, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) released a Report on Cyber Security in the Insurance Sector (Report), summarizing the results of a survey completed by 43 insurers about their cybersecurity...more
On February 3, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Risk Alert prepared by its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) that summarizes the results of a sweep of more than 100 broker-dealers...more