Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rules require member firms to establish and maintain a system of written procedures to supervise the activities of its members. On December 23, 2013, the SEC approved new FINRA...more
In This Issue:
“Structured Products, Meet the Volcker Rule”: The New Limitations on Proprietary Trading; SEC and FINRA Personnel Speak at Structured Products Conference; FINRA’s Annual Regulatory and Examination...more
The SEC is crunching a lot of data these days, and it apparently intends to use some of that data to identify “reverse churning.” Reverse churning is the practice of placing a client who trades infrequently in a fee-based,...more
Amidst the flurry of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cases involving improper employee stock option backdating several years ago, many commentators opined on the potential insider trading implications of companies'...more
As participation in the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) Immigrant Investor Program or “EB-5 program” grows, regulatory interest is showing a commensurate uptick. On November 20, 2013, Associate Director Stephen...more
Last Thursday, SEC Chair Mary Jo White told a crowd of white collar lawyers and judges in Washington, D.C., that the Commission is prepared to try more cases in the wake of its recent policy change requiring certain...more
The SEC should put more of its efforts into pursuing regulatory violations, such as failure to supervise, instead of trying to pursue fraud theories on weak facts, according to an SEC Commissioner....more
The EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program (the “EB-5 Program”) administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has been a significant source of capital for various real estate and other development projects...more
Two Halloween announcements by securities regulators may frighten investment advisers. The October 31 statements from the SEC and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) suggest that federal and...more
A federal court of appeals recently held out the possibility that insider trading prohibitions — at least under the classic theory — do not apply to mutual fund redemptions.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh...more
The SEC has provided some much-needed clarity on the issue of when broker-dealer compliance or legal personnel may be considered to be supervisors. On September 30, 2013, the Division of Trading and Markets (the “Division”)...more
In a speech presented to the second annual Securities Enforcement Forum on October 9, 2013, SEC Chair Mary Jo White described a broad expansion of the SEC’s enforcement program to reflect her desire “to see that the SEC’s...more
On September 17, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or “Commission”) announced settled enforcement actions against 23 firms for short selling in violation of Rule 105 of Regulation M, which limits the ability...more
The SEC recently finalized amendments to Rule 506 of Regulation D and Rule 144A under the Securities Act relaxing prohibitions against general solicitation in certain private offerings of securities implementing Section...more
As hurricane season approaches, the securities and commodities industries’ principal regulators are effectively encouraging firms to do the equivalent of putting up storm shutters, stocking up on batteries and bottled water,...more
The SEC’s “large trader” rules that apply to clearing firms and certain other firms will kick in this November. Thanks to a recent SEC release, some firms are getting a two-year compliance reprieve, but they must develop the...more
A federal court of appeals held out the possibility that insider trading prohibitions – at least under the classic theory – do not apply to mutual fund redemptions.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a Final Rule last week amending certain annual reporting, audit, and notification requirements for broker-dealers in the broker-dealer reporting rule (Rule 17a-5) and the...more
Investors who hire political intelligence firms to collect information from government sources should take notice of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act, according to panelists at a recent American Bar...more
Led by a new team of co-directors, the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is poised to create new initiatives dedicated to efficiency, greater staff discretion and specialized areas of focus....more
Today, April 19, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) published in the Federal Register rules and guidelines requiring their respective regulated financial...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
FINRA recently amended Rule 4530 (Reporting Requirements) to make required reporting by member firms of certain regulatory and disciplinary events less burdensome. Those relatively minor changes will be discussed below. But...more
According to a recent Bloomberg report, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering whether it should take a role in helping Americans manage their retirement savings. CFPB Director Richard Cordray told a...more