The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that the new SEC regulation of private fund advisers exceeded the agency's statutory authority....more
On April 3, 2024, the Department of Labor (the "DOL") published its final amendment (the "Amendment") to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 (the "QPAM Exemption"), which permits certain otherwise-prohibited...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC" or "Commission") has adopted new rules that further define the phrase "part of a regular business" for purposes of determining whether a person is a "dealer" or "government...more
2/28/2024
/ Dealers ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Rules ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Dealers ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Traders ,
Securities Transactions
The D.C. Circuit rebuked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on administrative law grounds but left untouched the test the Agency used to deny proposed bitcoin exchange traded products ("ETP")....more
9/7/2023
/ Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Bitcoin ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Markets ,
Listing Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Vacated
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") adopted multiple rules that will impact private funds, governing documents, and side letters....more
If adopted, these proposed rules would (i) enhance protection of customer information under Regulation S-P, (ii) add new requirements addressing cybersecurity risk to the U.S. securities markets, and (iii) expand the types of...more
In Short -
The Situation: Congress recently amended the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") to exempt certain "M&A brokers" from registration as broker-dealers with the U.S. Securities and Exchange...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") recently reminded SEC registered investment advisers of the upcoming compliance date (November 4, 2022) for the revised investment adviser advertising rule, and provided a list...more
What Happened On May 25, 2022, the SEC voted 3–1 to propose amendments to: (i) the "Names Rule" (Rule 35d-1) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 ("1940 Act") and (ii) rules and forms under both the Investment Advisers...more
In 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, the use of special purpose acquisition companies ("SPACs") as a means of taking companies public grew exponentially. SPAC IPOs raised a total of more than $160 billion in that five...more
The SEC's Proposal -
On March 28, 2022, the SEC released a rulemaking proposal (the "Proposal") for new rules to clarify the meaning of certain terms in the statutory definitions of "dealer" and "government securities...more
4/5/2022
/ Proposed Rules ,
Registration Statement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Dealers ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Traders
On February 9, 2022, the SEC proposed new rules focused on private fund advisers' practices, reporting, and disclosures ("Proposed Rules"). The Proposed Rules would apply to all SEC registered advisers to private funds, and a...more
2/16/2022
/ Comment Period ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Private Funds ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
The Situation: The SEC has brought another in a growing list of whistleblower cases critical of entities for potentially attempting to impede an individual from communicating with the agency. In July 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall...more
The Situation: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's ("SEC") Division of Examinations (the "Division") issued its 2021 examination priorities ("2021 Exam Priorities").
The Result: The 2021 Exam Priorities set...more
3/19/2021
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Investment Adviser ,
Municipal Advisers ,
OCIE ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation SCI ,
Retail Investors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On February 26, 2021, the SEC's Division of Examinations released a Risk Alert to make digital asset market participants aware of recurring issues that have arisen in the course of recent examinations, and provide notice of...more
The Situation: The term "accredited investor" under the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") is used to establish the eligibility of investors to participate in offerings conducted under the most frequently used private...more
Compliance with new Regulation Best Interest ("Regulation BI") need not prevent environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") investing, but beware of new proposed restrictions for some.
As of June 30, 2020,...more
9/28/2020
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Situation: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") has continued to operate via off-site examinations and remote working...more
On August 5, 2020, FINRA published Regulatory Notice 20-26, summarizing the results of a survey FINRA conducted of a representative cross-section of member firms, including firms with significant trading volumes or positions...more
The Situation: The regulatory agencies responsible for administering the Volcker Rule have amended the covered fund provisions of the rule.
The Result: Modifications to the definitions of "ownership interest" and "loan...more
7/15/2020
/ Collateralized Debt Obligations ,
Collateralized Loan Obligations ,
Covered Funds ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Ownership Interest ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Safe Harbors ,
Securitization ,
Volcker Rule
The Situation: The Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency ("OCC"), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"), Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and Commodity Futures Trading Commission...more
7/15/2020
/ Amended Regulation ,
Bank Holding Company Act ,
CFTC ,
Collateralized Loan Obligations ,
Covered Banking Entity ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Investment Companies ,
OCC ,
Policy Statement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securitization ,
Volcker Rule
The Situation: The SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") intends to examine registrants to assess preparation for the expected discontinuation of LIBOR and the transition to alternative reference...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has granted a temporary exemption from broker registration for certain activities by municipal advisors.
On June 16, 2020, the SEC issued a temporary conditional...more
The Investor Advisory Committee of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") recently recommended that the SEC promulgate specific disclosure policies regarding environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") topics...more
As of June 30, 2020, all broker-dealers with retail customers must comply with Reg BI, and all broker-dealers and investment advisers must comply with Form CRS requirements with respect to their retail customers/investors....more