In our previous alert, Paying for Buy-Side Investment Research: Will the FCA’s Third Way Ease the US-UK Divide?, we discussed the consultation issued by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on proposed rules on payment...more
7/30/2024
/ AIFM ,
Amended Rules ,
Broker-Dealer ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Listing Rules ,
MiFID II ,
No-Action Letters ,
Proposed Rules ,
Research Funding ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
On November 14, 2023, the SEC announced its enforcement results for fiscal year 2023, which ended on September 30, reporting the following key metrics and highlights...more
On October 16, 2023, the SEC’s Division of Examinations (EXAMS) published its exam priorities for 2024. The timing is notable, with the release coming several months ahead of the typical timeline and only eight months after...more
10/26/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
FinTech ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Regulation BI ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In Regulatory Notice 23-09, FINRA provides an update on actions it currently has under way to promote capital formation and the capital-raising process. FINRA also requests comment regarding whether there are other changes to...more
The proposal would codify for the first time the federal-level best execution standard for brokers and related obligations. New Regulation Best Execution would result in a pivot from what has been a principles-based approach...more
The 2023 priorities letter represents only a sliver of the topics firms can expect exam teams to cover this year. In developing the priorities, SEC staff noted their outreach directly to state securities regulators and...more
The SEC Division of Examinations recently published a risk alert summarizing observations from exams of registered investment advisers and broker-dealers related to compliance with Reg. S-ID, which is generally designed to...more
12/14/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Customer Information ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Identity Theft ,
Investment Adviser ,
Regulation S-ID ,
Risk Alert ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
FINRA recently published Regulatory Notice 22-23, providing guidance regarding firm and representative succession planning, including relevant FINRA rules and administrative processes and questions firms can consider when...more
FINRA recently highlighted Rule 3241 in the 2023 Regulatory Element Learning Plan. Rule 3241 became effective in early February 2021 and prohibits a registered person from being named as a beneficiary, executor, or...more
FINRA recently hosted a conference call with its smaller members covering Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS compliance. FINRA’s resounding message was that there is “no one-size-fits all” approach to Reg. BI...more
10/13/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC and CFTC recently charged 11 large financial institutions and their affiliates for failing to collect, monitor, and preserve communications over WhatsApp and other messaging services. These settlements follow a...more
10/7/2022
/ Affiliates ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Government Investigations ,
Instant Messaging Apps ,
Investment Adviser ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Social Media ,
WhatsApp
This article focuses on how the new Rule 206(4)-1 (the “Marketing Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) affects the relationships between investment advisers registered with the U.S. Securities...more
10/4/2022
/ Advertising ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Endorsements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Marketing ,
New Rules ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Testimonial Statements
SEC staff recently served up a juicy staff bulletin covering the standards of conduct for broker-dealer and investment adviser conflicts of interest. The staff bulletin includes 13 Q&As categorized into five different...more
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff recently published a bulletin reiterating the standards of conduct applicable to broker-dealers and investment advisers when making account recommendations to retail investors....more
4/15/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
IRA Rollovers ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Conduct
The SEC Division of Examinations recently published its list of priorities for 2022. While it was a bit late compared to a typical year, the priorities letter provides a roadmap for firms to better understand where the...more
4/8/2022
/ Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptoassets ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form CRS ,
Information Security ,
Investment Adviser ,
Private Funds ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulation SHO ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unregistered Brokers
This is the first in a series of alerts discussing topics covered by FINRA in its 2022 Examination and Risk Monitoring Program Report (the “Report”). Here we take a look at Regulation Best Interest (“Reg. BI”) and Form CRS,...more
2/25/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Training
On February 15, 2022, the SEC announced settlements with 12 broker-dealers and investment advisers for failing to satisfy their Form CRS obligations. These settlements come on the heels of 27 settlements last year for similar...more
This is the first in a series of alerts in which we will explore the practical reality of the opportunities the metaverse will present for the financial services industry and challenges firms will need to overcome as they...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is implementing a campaign to overhaul the agency’s expectations around cybersecurity and cyber incident reporting for the financial services industry and corporate America...more
2/15/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-P ,
Regulation SCI ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Service Provider
On December 17, 2021, the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a statement regarding Form CRS disclosures required of SEC-registered broker-dealers and investment advisers who offer services to retail...more
The SEC has been increasingly focused on digital engagement practices (DEPs) and gamification in the marketplace. In August, for example, the SEC solicited public comment on broker-dealer and investment adviser DEPs and...more
The staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Division of Examinations (the “Division”) recently published a risk alert spotlighting observations from its “RIC Initiatives” — 200+ examinations of mutual...more
11/2/2021
/ Books & Records ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
ETFs ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Portfolios ,
Investors ,
Mutual Funds ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Portfolio Managers ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
There is little doubt that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is making cybersecurity a top priority. SEC Chair Gary Gensler told a Senate committee on Tuesday, September 14, 2021 that the agency is developing a...more
9/16/2021
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Breach Plans ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Information Security ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Firms ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Phishing Scams ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulation S-P ,
Safeguards Rule ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Word to the wise: when a regulator kindly reminds you on multiple occasions that you need to comply with its rules, you should probably heed those warnings. On July 26, 2021, the SEC announced settlements with 21 investment...more
A flurry of recent climate-related announcements from the SEC forecasts an upcoming policy battle at the agency. Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee has signaled that “ESG” will clearly be in focus across the SEC’s various...more