The issue of how firms should pay for investment research continues to be a controversial topic in the financial markets. The U.S. has maintained the approach it adopted before the mid-2000s, which is to permit investment...more
7/3/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Market Research ,
MiFID II ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
The issue of how investment research should be paid for by investors is controversial, long-standing and seemingly perennially the subject of legislative iterations, failure and unintended consequence and more reform. Before...more
On April 26, 2022, the Division of Examinations (the “Division”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Risk Alert listing notable examples of deficiencies that its staff has identified regarding investment...more
Proposed Amendments to Form 13F Would Increase the Reporting Threshold from $100 Million to $3.5 Billion, Among Other Changes
On July 10, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a proposed rule (the...more
On June 23, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a Risk Alert (the “Risk Alert”) highlighting several problem areas that it has identified...more
On April 21, 2020, the U.S. Securities Commission (the “SEC”) proposed a new rule under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) to govern the valuation practices and the role of boards of directors regarding the...more
In an Order dated March 25, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission offered an exemption to investment advisers that are confronting COVID-19-related disruptions with respect to certain filing obligations.
The Order...more
In an Order dated March 25, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission extended the exemptions offered to investment companies, business development companies (BDCs) and investment advisers grappling with challenges to the...more
3/27/2020
/ Annual Reports ,
Business Development Companies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Exemptions ,
Filing Requirements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Voting Requirements
In response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus disease, the Securities and Exchange Commission took extraordinary action to bolster liquidity for registered investment companies through at least June 30, 2020. In an...more
3/27/2020
/ Affiliates ,
Borrowers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Orders ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Lenders ,
Liquidity ,
Open-Ended Fund Companies (OFCs) ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
As the world responds to COVID-19, we have identified a number of compliance and legal considerations for asset managers. We summarize a select list of these in our note below....more
3/20/2020
/ Asset Management ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Commodity Pool ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Threats ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Futures ,
Information Security ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Liquidity ,
NFA ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Short Selling ,
Telecommuting ,
Valuation
On November 4, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to rules governing investment adviser advertisements and payment to solicitors under the Investment Advisers Act. The comment period...more
11/18/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form ADV ,
General Solicitation ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Letters ,
OCIE ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reasonable Care ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Two facts may come as a surprise about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s existing investment adviser advertising rule: that it literally fits on one page, and that it has not been updated since 1961. These facts...more
11/18/2019
/ Advertising ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form ADV ,
General Solicitation ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On June 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) released a long-anticipated interpretation of investment adviser fiduciary duty under Section 206 of the US Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“the Advisers...more
6/28/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
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) ,
Standard of Conduct
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) has issued its examination priorities for 2019. In it, OCIE points out that its examination program covers some 13,200...more
1/15/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
ETFs ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
MSRB ,
Mutual Funds ,
OCIE ,
Popular ,
Retail Investors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In a new Risk Alert, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) highlighted common compliance issues involving Rule 206(4)-3 under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, otherwise...more
On April 18, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) took the long-awaited step of proposing rules, interpretations and guidance (the “Proposed Rules”) that would seek to enhance and clarify the standards of...more
4/25/2018
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Comment Period ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
EU ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
MiFID II ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
UK
In May 2015, we reported on proposals by the Securities and Exchange Commission to expand public disclosures by registered investment advisers (“RIAs”) of various aspects of their separately managed accounts (“SMA”)...more
A rule proposed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 would require SEC-registered investment advisers to adopt and implement written business continuity and transition plans...more
Every five years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is required to adjust for inflation the agency’s dollar-based qualification tests for when an SEC-registered investment adviser can receive compensation based on...more
Following the release in 2015 of the US Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary rule, many commentators feared that communications that had previously been characterized as “investment education” would now constitute...more
As discussed in our publication dated April 14, 2016, the final Department of Labor fiduciary rule provides for two new prohibited transaction exemptions, the Best Interest Contract Exemption (the “BIC Exemption”) and the...more
The Rule Will Require Restructuring of Pay and Compliance Policies at Financial Institutions Serving Retail Retirement Clients
The Rule Also Increases the Litigation Risks to Financial Institutions Associated with...more
On August 25, 2015, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), the bureau of the Department of the Treasury with principal responsibility for implementing anti-money laundering rules and regulations, issued a...more
In the wake of the financial crisis, the US Securities and Exchange Commission adopted detailed data reporting rules for private funds on both Form ADV (2010) and Form PF (2011). In its continuing push to gather more asset...more