Key Points -
- The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) recently released a Risk Alert warning investment advisers, broker-dealers, investment companies,...more
Key Points -
- Recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement actions against investment advisers and fund managers point to continued pressure points in the areas of conflicts of interest and disclosures to...more
Key Points -
- New York’s Investor Protection Bureau of the Department of Law (the “Department”) proposed changes to notice filing requirements for private funds offered under Regulation D.
- The proposal also would...more
This Katten Advisory highlights considerations around COVID-19 that may be relevant for private investment funds and their managers. Notwithstanding the current pandemic, fund managers owe fiduciary duties to their clients,...more
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Division of Corporation Finance Issues C&DIs on Omission of Third Year From MD&A -
As previously discussed in the April 12, 2019 edition of Corporate & Financial Weekly Digest, the Securities and...more
2/3/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Holding Company Act ,
C&DIs ,
CFTC ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Statements ,
Incorporation by Reference ,
MD&A Statements ,
NIST ,
OCIE ,
Registration Statement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Transitional Arrangements ,
UK Brexit
KEY POINTS -
- Amendments to FINRA Rules 5130 and 5131, which govern the offer and sale of "New Issue" securities went into effect on January 1.
- FINRA Rule 5130 prohibits a broker-dealer from selling New Issues to...more
1/10/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Business Development Companies ,
Charitable Organizations ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Sovereigns ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Regulation S ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
With The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) set to take effect on January 1, 2020, many firms that collect personal information will need to carefully consider whether the CCPA applies to them, whether they handle...more
Key Points
- SEC proposes significant changes to the Advisers Act “Advertising Rule” and “Cash Solicitation” Rule.
- The proposed definition of “Advertisements” expands the types of communications that are considered...more
12/16/2019
/ Advertising ,
Books & Records ,
Cash Solicitation Rule ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
No-Action Letters ,
Private Funds ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Proposes New Amendments to Modernize Shareholder Proposal Rules -
On November 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to propose amendments to Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange of 1934...more
11/11/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Corporate Governance ,
Derivatives ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
No-Action Letters ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
UK Brexit
In 2018, New York State (NYS) and New York City (NYC) each adopted laws that include measures to address and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Among other requirements, the laws — specifically, at 201-G of the NYS...more
On August 21, a sharply divided Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued two interpretive releases addressing the proxy voting obligations of investment advisers and the obligations of proxy advisory firms....more
On April 30, 2019, US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit decided an important case involving the disclosure obligations of investment advisers. The case decided that an adviser’s disclosure that it “may” have a conflict of...more
5/16/2019
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Mutual Funds ,
Negligence ,
Revenue Sharing ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On April 16, the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published a Risk Alert outlining issues related to compliance with Regulation S-P that it identified in its inspections of SEC-registered...more
4/26/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Customer Information ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Investment Adviser ,
OCIE ,
Opt-Outs ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulation S-P ,
Risk Alert ,
Safeguards Rule ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On September 26, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged a dually registered broker-dealer and investment adviser (the "Registrant") with deficient cybersecurity procedures. This is the first SEC action alleging...more
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Amends the Definition of “Smaller Reporting Company” -
On June 28, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it adopted amendments to the definition of “smaller reporting company,” which...more
7/23/2018
/ Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Bitcoin ,
Corporate Governance ,
Derivatives Clearing Organizations ,
EU Benchmark Regulation ,
Risk Alert ,
Rule 701 ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Smaller Reporting Companies ,
Sovereign Debt ,
UK Brexit ,
Virtual Currency ,
Volcker Rule
INVESTMENT COMPANIES AND INVESTMENT ADVISERS -
SEC Releases Updates to Custody Rule Frequently Asked Questions -
On June 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management staff (Staff)...more
6/18/2018
/ Custody Rule ,
EMIR ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Financial Crimes ,
Form PF ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
MiFID II ,
MMF ,
Money Market Funds ,
UK
On April 18, concurrently with its publication for comment of a proposed fiduciary rule for brokers,1 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took several actions that broadly implicate investment advisers....more
On February 7, the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published its examination priorities for 2018 (the "2018 Priorities Report"). Given that OCIE's...more
On November 29, the US Department of Labor (DOL) finalized its 18-month extension of the transition period under the Best Interest Contract Exemption (the "BIC Exemption"). As described in Katten's earlier advisory,...more
CFTC -
CFTC Suspends Need of Formal Notice for Position Disaggregation Relief -
On August 10, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the CFTC) issued no-action relief, eliminating the need for certain persons...more
On August 9, the US Department of Labor (DOL) announced in a court filing that it has proposed an 18-month extension of the full implementation of the Best Interest Contract Exemption (the "BIC Exemption") under the ERISA...more
SEC/CORPORATE -
SEC Updates to Form ADV FAQs -
On June 12, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Investment Management updated its Frequently Asked Questions on Form ADV and IARD. Much of the...more
The DOL's "fiduciary advice rule" (the "Rule") will take effect on June 9, 2017. The DOL has published FAQs on the implementation of the Rule applicable to the period between June 9th and December 31st (the "Transition...more
BROKER-DEALER -
FINRA Requests Comment on Rules Governing Employees’ Outside Business Activities -
On May 15, as part of a new review, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority requested public comment on the...more
Recently, the staff (Staff) of the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Investment Management issued an information update (the "Information Update") for investment advisers registered under the...more