The November 4, 2022, deadline for advisers to implement amended Rule 206(4)-1 (Marketing Rule) and related rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 is fast approaching. Advisers required to comply with the rule are...more
10/24/2022
/ Advertising ,
Amended Rules ,
Cash Solicitation Rule ,
Compliance ,
Endorsements ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Marketing ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Funds ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Testimonial Statements
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on June 18, 2020 (Risk Alert), which introduces an examination initiative on the upcoming...more
7/31/2020
/ Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Clearing Agencies ,
Compliance ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Libor ,
Municipal Advisers ,
OCIE ,
Risk Alert ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Traders ,
Transitional Arrangements
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issued two Risk Alerts (Risk Alerts)1 on April 7, 2020, identifying the scope and content of OCIE’s initial examinations following the...more
The U.S. federal securities laws, the Commodity Exchange Act and regulations thereunder, and certain other applicable federal laws, rules and regulations, as well as rules of U.S. self-regulatory organizations (such as the...more
2/12/2020
/ Asset Management ,
BEA ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CFTC ,
Commodities Traders ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
Compliance ,
CPOs ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equity Securities ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form 13F ,
Form ADV ,
Form PF ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Large Traders ,
NFA ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Schedule 13D ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The staff of the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (Staff) issued a Risk Alert on July 23, 2019, in which the Staff shared observations from its “Supervision Initiative” that “assess[ed] the oversight...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, on June 5, 2019, voted 3-1 in favor of adopting a package of rules, amendments and interpretations (Final Rules) intended to improve the retail investor experience and to provide...more
6/12/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
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) ,
Standard of Conduct
The Staff of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released a Risk Alert on April 16, 2019, which identifies significant Regulation S-P (Reg. S-P)1...more
4/23/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Employee Training ,
Investor Protection ,
OCIE ,
Opt-Outs ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Privacy Policy ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Regulation S-P ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. federal securities laws, the Commodity Exchange Act and regulations thereunder, and certain other applicable federal laws, rules and regulations, as well as rules of U.S. self-regulatory organizations (such as the...more
1/31/2019
/ Commodities Traders ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Pool ,
Compliance ,
CPOs ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
NFA ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on December 14, 2018 concerning the use of electronic messaging by registered...more
1/25/2019
/ Books & Records ,
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Commercial Electronic Messages ,
Compliance ,
Data Security ,
Electronic Communications ,
Employee Training ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supervision ,
Third-Party
Next year’s examination priorities of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission were announced on December 20, 2018, and cover six broad, albeit...more
12/22/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Compliance ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Elder Issues ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Market Infrastructure ,
MSRB ,
OCIE ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retail Investors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on July 11, 2018. The Risk Alert highlights OCIE’s observations of compliance issues...more
8/3/2018
/ Best Execution ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
OCIE ,
Risk Alert ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
This year’s examination priorities of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were announced on February 6, 2018, and cover five broad, albeit...more
3/9/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Budgets ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Elder Issues ,
ETFs ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Investor Protection ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Mutual Funds ,
OCIE ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retail Investors ,
Risk Assessment ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. federal securities laws and the rules of U.S. self regulatory organizations (such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) impose certain reporting and compliance obligations on investment advisers and funds....more
1/24/2018
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
Compliance ,
CPO ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Derivatives ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equity Securities ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Form 13F ,
Form ADV ,
Form D Filing ,
Form PF ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Investors ,
NFA ,
Offerings ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Schedule 13D ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Traders ,
Securities Violations ,
Self-Certification ,
Verification Requirements ,
Virtual Currency
The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on September 14, 2017 (Risk Alert). The Risk Alert highlights...more
10/18/2017
/ Advertising ,
Compliance ,
Examination Procedures ,
False Statements ,
Investor Protection ,
Marketing ,
Misleading Impressions ,
OCIE ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The staff of the Division of Investment Management (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a Guidance Update (Guidance) on February 23, 2017, on the subject of automated investment advisers...more
3/15/2017
/ Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Division of Investment Management ,
Guidance Update ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Management ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Robo-Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. federal securities laws and the rules of U.S. self-regulatory organizations (such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) impose certain reporting and compliance obligations on investment advisers and funds....more
2/21/2017
/ Accredited Investors ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equity Securities ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form ADV ,
Form PF ,
Fund Managers ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investment Adviser ,
NFA ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on February 7, 2017 (Risk Alert), highlighting the “five compliance...more
Investment advisers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may use a variety of business and organizational models, which may include structures with one or more branch offices. In announcing its...more
The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on October 24, 2016 (Risk Alert) regarding examinations of...more
10/28/2016
/ Amended Regulation ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Investment Adviser ,
OCIE ,
Risk Alert ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on August 25, 2015,1 pertaining to all investment advisers registered or required to be registered...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) issued a cease and desist order (Order) on June 23, 2015, against Pekin Singer Strauss Asset Management Inc. (Adviser), an investment adviser registered under...more
8/6/2015
/ Asset Management ,
CCO ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Officers ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Ethics ,
Fraud ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Funds ,
Policy Violations ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Tone At The Top
The U.S. federal securities laws and the rules of U.S. self-regulatory organizations (such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) impose certain reporting and compliance obligations on investment advisers and funds....more
3/27/2015
/ Brokers ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equity Securities ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Form 13F ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
NFA ,
Private Funds ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Schedule 13D ,
Securities Dealers
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Divisions of Investment Management (IM) and Corporate Finance (CF) released a staff legal bulletin (Bulletin) on June 30, 2014, covering various issues involved with proxy...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 9, 2014 announced its examination priorities for 2014. The priorities address: (i) market-wide issues, including fraud detection and prevention, corporate governance,...more
U.S. SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations Issues Risk Alert on Alternative Investment Due Diligence Practices -
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and...more