On February 9, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") proposed new rules and amendments to existing rules (the "Proposed Rules") under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the "Advisers...more
On March 3, 2021, the SEC’s Division of Examinations[1] announced its examination priorities for 2021. Noting the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Division of Examinations reported that during the agency’s 2020...more
3/18/2021
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment Adviser ,
OCIE ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
This yearly report provides a summary of some of the significant changes and developments that occurred in the past year in the hedge fund and private equity spaces, as well as certain recommended practices that investment...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has approved amendments that will facilitate the ability of funds and other issuers to raise capital through private placements. On August 26, 2020, the SEC adopted amendments to...more
On June 3, 2020, the Department of Labor (the "DOL") published an Information Letter confirming that an investment option under a 401(k) plan (or other defined contribution plan) may include a limited allocation to private...more
6/11/2020
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Information Letters ,
Private Equity ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors
On May 11, 2020, we issued an Alert on BE-10. Essentially, any US person that owns 10% or more of the voting stock (or equivalent) in a foreign business enterprise at December 31, 2019 is required to file the survey...more
I. Introduction -
The BE-10 benchmark survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad is a survey conducted every five years by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (the "BEA") of the U.S. Department of Commerce in order to obtain...more
As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, it has become apparent that it is having a significant impact on the global financial market, at least for the short- to medium-term. While the only constant is change, there...more
On Friday, March 13, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") announced the issuance of a pair of exemptive orders providing conditional relief for investment advisers, registered investment companies and...more
On January 13, 2020, the U.S. Department of Treasury issued final regulations (the "Final Rules") that implement most of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 ("FIRRMA"). While the Final Rules provide...more
1/24/2020
/ CFIUS ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Real Estate Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) ,
Final Rules ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Governments ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Persons ,
Mandatory Disclosure Rules ,
NAICS ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings ,
Non-Controlling Interests ,
Principal Place of Business ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
U.S. Treasury
Last week, the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations released its 2020 Exam Priorities with a number of areas of interest to private fund managers. OCIE reported that it examined 15% of registered investment...more
1/15/2020
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Investment Adviser ,
OCIE ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Conduct
On September 4, 2019, the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) released a new risk alert on certain principal and agency cross trading compliance issues identified in deficiency letters in connection...more
Recently, a group of Congress members introduced into Congress Senate Bill 2155 named the Stop Wall Street Looting Act of 2019. Although unlikely to be enacted into law as drafted, this proposed legislation would directly and...more
9/4/2019
/ Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Leveraged Buyout ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Public Disclosure ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Today, we are launching a proprietary database tracking all SEC enforcement actions involving private equity advisers. The database contains key information from the actions, including summaries of key issues, settlement...more
7/23/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Pilot Program Mandatory Filing Requirement – Private Investment Fund Considerations -
The potential for national security review of foreign investment in the U.S. has been around for 30 years since the 1988 enactment of...more
11/1/2018
/ CFIUS ,
Covered Transactions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Data Security ,
Export Control Reform (ECR) ,
Export Controls ,
Federal Pilot Programs ,
Filing Requirements ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security
I. Advertising Rule Compliance Issues - On September 14, 2017, the staff of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a National Examination Program Risk Alert on the most frequent advertising...more
On June 1, 2016, the SEC announced a settlement with Blackstreet Capital Management, LLC and Murry N. Gunty, Blackstreet's managing member and principal owner. As a registered investment adviser based in Chevy Chase,...more
On Wednesday, May 18, 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed to increase the net worth threshold for qualified clients from $2 million to $2.1 million. This proposed adjustment is being made...more
Regulators were busy at the end of 2015, especially in the United States, perhaps being motivated to push forward new rule proposals in anticipation of a change in administration after the presidential elections later this...more
On January 11, 2016, the staff of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its annual announcement on examination priorities in the coming calendar...more
On November 5, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had reached a settlement with Cherokee Investment Partners, LLC (CIP) and Cherokee Advisers, LLC (CA), affiliated private equity fund...more
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, signed into law on November 2, 2015, has significantly changed the partnership tax audit rules, effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017.
Under the current partnership...more
11/6/2015
/ Audits ,
Bipartisan Budget ,
Burden-Shifting ,
Federal Budget ,
IRS ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
New Legislation ,
New Regulations ,
Partnership Agreements ,
Partnerships ,
Registered Representatives ,
Tax Liability
On November 3, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had reached a settlement with Fenway Partners, LLC, a New York-based private equity firm, and several of the firm's executives (the...more
11/5/2015
/ Advisory Board ,
Affiliated-Business Arrangements ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Executives ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Investors ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis (the "BEA") recently released the final version of the BE-180 report, a five-year benchmark survey that collects data on transactions between U.S. persons that are...more
9/1/2015
/ Benchmarks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Bureau of Economic Analysis ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Financial Institutions ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investors ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Private Funds ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Surveys ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Time Extensions ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On July 22, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and U.S. Internal Revenue Service issued proposed Treasury Regulations under Section 707(a)(2)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, addressing management...more
7/27/2015
/ Capital Gains ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Enterprise Risks ,
Fee Waivers ,
Fund Managers ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Management Fees ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Proposed Regulation ,
U.S. Treasury