Unclaimed property examinations and new types of regulatory inquiries will pose major challenges for US companies in 2024. Not only are states pushing ahead with more examinations, but many states are using new techniques to...more
In a Legal Alert issued before the SEC open meeting, we posed five questions that our Investment Services team would be looking out for as part of this meeting. We now have answers to some of these questions....more
7/31/2023
/ Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation BI ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Standard of Care ,
Technology
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is holding an open meeting this Wednesday to consider whether to propose new and amended rules under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940...more
Unclaimed property audits and compliance changes will challenge many US companies in 2023. Any company that is not filing annual reports will be at risk of an expensive multi-year audit, and even long-time filers could be...more
As might be expected, FINRA appears to be aligning itself with the SEC in its assertion of jurisdiction over investments that may not, at the end of the day, be deemed securities. ...more
11/16/2022
/ Affiliates ,
Blockchain ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Marketing ,
Popular ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Unregistered Securities
Now that the dust has settled on the SEC’s enforcement action against fifteen (15) broker-dealers and an investment adviser for violations of SEC recordkeeping rules applicable to the use of personal devices and off-channel...more
The US Supreme Court heard arguments on October 3, 2022 on an unclaimed property case for the first time since the early 1990s. The case, Delaware v. Pennsylvania, is a state-versus-state dispute between Delaware and...more
On September 27, 2022, 15 broker-dealers and one investment adviser agreed to pay more than $1.8 billion in total civil penalties to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and, for those same companies or affiliates...more
10/5/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Dealers ,
Swaps ,
Text Messages
The California State Legislature has passed legislation giving the Controller the green light to establish a California Voluntary Compliance Program (VCP) for holders of unclaimed property. The bill, A.B. 2280,...more
Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Cynthia Lummis (R- WY) introduced new proposed legislation on June 7, 2022, which would classify the vast majority of digital assets as commodities, and empower the Commodities Futures...more
6/14/2022
/ CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
FERC ,
FinTech ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Investment Contract ,
NIST ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In an Executive Order (EO) issued March 9, 2022, President Joseph Biden set out the guiding principles for US policy on digital assets and digital asset regulation, including US policy with respect to a US Central Bank...more
There is no love lost between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the crypto industry with tensions escalating over the past year. So it seems fitting that on Valentine’s Day, the SEC brought a...more
On January 26, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a rule (Proposed Rule) amending - and significantly broadening - a rule that defines certain terms used in the statutory definition of “exchange.”...more
ESG will be front and center in the SEC’s 2021 agenda. Our ESG Matrix can help establish a baseline for compliance by SEC-regulated funds, investment advisers, private funds and insurance companies. The Matrix covers...more
In the span of the last five months, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its staff have issued two statements, a risk alert and an exam priorities roadmap, all of which address digital assets in full or in part....more
3/18/2021
/ Annuities ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Books & Records ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Custody Rule ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
FinTech ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Private Placements ,
Registration Requirement ,
Risk Alert ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Transfer Agents
As 2020 came to a close, the issue of how digital asset securities can be custodied by US broker-dealers became clearer, at least from a regulatory standpoint. In a release issued pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of...more
As anticipated, 2020 has seen a number of fiduciary and best interest advice regulations advance at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations face challenges in dealing with rules that impose a...more
4/17/2020
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Securities Regulators
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act). The CARES Act provides emergency financial relief to individuals, businesses and specific industries...more
Recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an Investor Alert (the Alert) warning investors to use caution before investing in initial exchange offerings (IEOs) through online trading platforms. The...more
2/19/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Due Diligence ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) ,
Investors ,
Know Your Customers ,
Offshore Listings ,
Online Platforms ,
Regulation ATS ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Unregistered Securities
FINRA has identified several items in the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) that it will examine for in the first half of 2020 as firms prepare for Reg BI compliance.
In this Bottom Line videocast, Susan Krawczyk and...more
2/3/2020
/ Asset Management ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Firms ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On December 18, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a proposed rule – “Amending the ‘Accredited Investor’ Definition” (the Proposed Rule) – that would expand access to private funds for certain...more
12/23/2019
/ Accredited Investors ,
Capital Raising ,
Comment Period ,
Family Offices ,
Institutional Investors ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Regulation D ,
Rule 506 Offerings ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Coming on the heels of the share class initiative, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is at the initial stages of another initiative involving concerns about adviser disclosures and conflicts related to bank...more
11/22/2019
/ Asset Management ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
FDIC ,
Government Securities ,
Liquidity ,
Management Fees ,
Money Market Funds ,
Net Capital Rule ,
OCC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
Beginning June 2020, the SEC will require most broker-dealers and investment advisers to file and deliver a Form CRS to new, prospective and existing customers and clients. As firms begin to prepare Form CRS, much attention...more
11/14/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Firms ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
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
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