On March 3, 2020, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Liu v. SEC, No. 18-1501. This article summarizes what transpired at the hearing, in which the arguments centered on a challenge to the ability of the U.S....more
3/21/2020
/ Administrative Authority ,
Certiorari ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Penalties ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Split of Authority ,
Statute of Limitations
The SEC and DOJ have long prioritized insider trading prosecutions. Moreover, insider trading cases frequently involve parallel investigations in which the SEC and DOJ share information and coordinate efforts to collect...more
2/26/2020
/ Civil Liability ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Authority ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
Information Reports ,
Insider Trading ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Willful Violations
In light of the significance of the final rules and Commission interpretations issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 5, 2019, our Best Interest Compliance Team issued a series of articles on the...more
The SEC, through its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”), recently issued its most detailed cyber guidance to date. OCIE had previously issued several cybersecurity risk alerts over the past few years....more
2/13/2020
/ Corporate Issuers ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Management ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
OCIE ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security and Privacy Controls ,
Third-Party Service Provider
The college football bowl season is upon us, NFL teams are jockeying for playoff seeding, and with the college basketball season underway fans of that game are looking longingly towards March for how their brackets may look...more
12/17/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Gambling ,
Investment Contract ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investment Schemes ,
Investors ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Sports Betting ,
Unregistered Securities
Facing a 35-day government shutdown and new restrictions on the ability to recover disgorgement, it would be perfectly understandable if the SEC’s Division of Enforcement suffered a lackluster year. Nevertheless, according to...more
11/18/2019
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Disgorgement ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSD) ,
Statute of Limitations ,
White Collar Crimes
It appears that the SEC has initiated a “sweep” examination to inquire into the sales practices applicable to retirement plans for teachers and state and local government employees. We understand that multiple SEC regional...more
11/7/2019
/ 403(b) Plans ,
457(b) Plans ,
Annuities ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Military Service Members ,
NYDFS ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSD) ,
Teachers
The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Investment Management released frequently asked questions (FAQs) on October 18, 2019, which discuss certain compensation arrangements and related...more
10/30/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Division of Investment Management ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mutual Funds ,
Revenue Sharing ,
Sale of Assets ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSD)
On September 30, 2019, the SEC ordered an additional 16 self-reporting investment advisory firms to pay nearly $10 million in disgorgement. Some have referred to this as the “second wave” of the SEC Division of Enforcement’s...more
In light of the significance of the final rules and commission interpretations issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 5, 2019, Drinker Biddle & Reath’s Best Interest Compliance Team is publishing a...more
On August 29, 2019, the SEC filed a complaint against a registered investment adviser alleging failures to disclose four categories of conflicts of interest and seeking disgorgement of $10 million in undisclosed compensation....more
9/12/2019
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Investment Adviser ,
OCIE ,
Revenue Sharing ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Self-Reporting ,
Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSD) ,
Share Classes
On September 9, 2019, the states of New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Mexico and Oregon, and the District of Columbia (collectively, the States) filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief...more
9/11/2019
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Final Rules ,
Form CRS ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Standard of Conduct ,
Statutory Authority
On June 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Regulation Best Interest Final Package, the new disclosure requirements that accompany the financial services industry’s new Regulation Best Interest...more
8/20/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Form CRS ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Transactions ,
Standard of Care ,
Standard of Conduct
In light of the significance of Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) for the financial services industry, Drinker Biddle & Reath’s Best Interest Compliance Team is publishing a series of articles on the Securities and Exchange...more
8/19/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Standard of Conduct
On June 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by Chairman Jay Clayton, voted 3 to 1 to approve the four agenda items that encompassed the “Reg BI Package.” These four items were Regulation Best Interest –...more
6/13/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Transactions ,
Standard of Conduct
On May 23, 2019, the SEC released its Open Meeting Agenda for June 5, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. EST. More than a typical SEC agenda release, this advised that at this meeting the SEC will consider whether to adopt the package that...more
5/29/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Exemptions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Registration Requirement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Retail Investors ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SEC Commissioner ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Transactions ,
Standard of Conduct