Alongside the rapid pace of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rulemaking, the SEC and its Staff continue to shape regulatory obligations for investment advisers in 2024 through guidance, alerts, enforcement actions,...more
8/22/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Corner Post Inc v Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement ,
False Statements ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investment Adviser ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Marketing ,
Performance Standards ,
Private Funds ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On July 31, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Examinations (EXAMS) issued a risk alert summarizing observations from its recent anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-financing of terrorism...more
Last month, the SEC took a big step toward strengthening the cybersecurity of financial systems by proposing regulations that, taken together, will require registered investments advisers, broker‑dealers, and all national...more
4/14/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
On February 15, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted rules and amendments to shorten the standard settlement cycle for transactions in most securities from two business days after the trade date...more
On February 7, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Examinations (EXAMs) announced its 2023 Examination Priorities (the “Priorities”), which highlight areas it expects to target in 2023...more
2/22/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fair Valuation ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Libor ,
Mutual Funds ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted measures intended to enhance the protection of retail investors who engage financial professionals to assist them with investments. Regulation Best Interest...more
On March 30, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a no-action letter stating that the staff of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets would not recommend enforcement actions against broker-dealers that...more
The SEC’s new Risk Alert provides valuable insight as to what the OCIE wants to see broker dealers and investment advisers accomplish with their privacy notices and their cybersecurity policies and procedures. The SEC wants...more
FINRA recently published its 2019 Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter (“Priorities Letter”) highlighting topics upon which FINRA will focus in the coming year. Unlike letters in prior years, the Priorities...more
On July 17, 2018, the SEC announced that it had entered into a settlement with a broker-dealer charged with failure to preserve certain records and inaccurately recording travel, entertainment, and other expenses. The...more
On July 11, 2018, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published a Risk Alert identifying the most common deficiencies that its staff observed in recent examinations of registered investment...more
SEC FINES BROKER-DEALER FOR EARLY RESALES OF STRUCTURED NOTES -
On June 25, 2018, the SEC announced that a broker-dealer settled charges relating to inappropriate resales of structured notes. The SEC determined that the...more
In the third release comprising part of the package of proposed rules and forms related to broker-dealers’ and investment advisers’ standards of conduct, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or the “Commission”)...more
Background -
For many years, the distinction between investment advisers and broker-dealers was clear: investment advisers were counselors who were expected to provide advice that was in the best interest of their clients,...more
At an open meeting held earlier today, April 18, 2018, the SEC voted 4-1 to propose a package of rules, forms, and guidance designed to define a new “best interest” standard of care for broker-dealers dealing with retail...more
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) this week provided investment advisers with a summary of frequent compliance issues related to advisory fees and expenses that the staff is seeing in their...more
The National Exam Program of the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) recently published its observations from the second generation of its Cybersecurity Initiative. It reported overall improvement...more
REGULATION -
DOL Issues Additional Guidance on Fiduciary Rule -
On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a second set of guidance on its new fiduciary rules, which are scheduled to become...more
2/2/2017
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Brokers ,
Capital Acquisition Broker (CAB) ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cross-Selling ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Examination Priorities ,
Exploitation ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Liquidity Risk Management Rule ,
Mutual Funds ,
OCIE ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Sales Load Variations ,
Section 36(b) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swing Pricing ,
Trustees
A recent enforcement action by FINRA underscores the regulator’s continuing concern regarding how financial advisers are paid to sell investment products. In a case announced on November 28, 2016, a member firm settled...more
Regulation -
Next on the SEC’s Regulatory Agenda: A Chief Valuation Officer? -
First, the SEC required funds to designate a chief compliance officer. Then, the SEC proposed that funds designate a liquidity...more
8/16/2016
/ Advisors Act ,
Auditors ,
BDC ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Business Development Companies ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Futures Contracts ,
Commodity Pool ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
ETFs ,
FinCEN ,
FSOC ,
OCIE ,
Private Equity ,
Qualified Client ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On May 23, 2016, at FINRA’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., Richard Ketchum, FINRA’s chairman and CEO, delivered a speech that shed a little light on FINRA’s recent sweep letter relating to firm culture....more
The SEC recently approved FINRA’s new Rule 2273 (Educational Communication Related to Recruitment Practices and Account Transfers), which requires delivery of an educational communication prepared by FINRA to customers of a...more
Regulation -
Department of Labor Issues Fiduciary Regulations Under ERISA -
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued its long-anticipated final regulation (the “Regulation”) defining who is a fiduciary as a result of...more
In This Issue:
- SEC Proposes Rule Requiring Hedging Disclosure
- SEC Reports the Result of its Cybersecurity Sweep of Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers
- House Passes Bill to Ease Volcker Rule and Other...more
2/27/2015
/ Background Checks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equity Swaps ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Hedging ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
OCIE ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Yesterday, the Obama administration called on the Department of Labor to draft rules that, in effect, would require brokers who provide retirement advice to abide by a fiduciary standard. In a speech at an event hosted by...more
2/25/2015
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Brokers ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
Obama Administration ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)