Builder of Investment Models Deviates From Blueprints Employee’s Rogue Remodeling Costs Builder Plenty -
The SEC’s recent order instituting administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings (OIP) against registered...more
5/8/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Annuities ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Retirement Plan ,
Risk Management ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
A shift in leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission often brings significant changes in regulatory priorities and enforcement approaches. As anticipated in our firm’s EO Watch alert, “Immediate Practical...more
3/25/2025
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Trump Administration
In a recent enforcement action, the SEC concluded that the relationship between James Craigie and an officer of Church & Dwight Co. fatally undermined Craigie’s status as an “independent director” of the company under New...more
1/28/2025
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Independent Directors ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mutual Funds ,
NYSE ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
Gone With the Wind?
Closed-End Funds Risk Extinction -
Shares of SEC-registered closed-end funds (CEFs) have long held significant potential advantages for some investors. For example, unlike shares of mutual funds...more
10/16/2024
/ Cybersecurity ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Social Media
Shares of SEC-registered closed-end funds (CEFs) have long held significant potential advantages for some investors. For example, unlike shares of mutual funds (which are open-end funds), CEF shares cannot be redeemed by the...more
Last Lap in SEC RILA Rulemaking Critical Unresolved Issues -
Congress directed the SEC to adopt a new registration statement for registered indexed annuities (RILAs) by the end of June. Several months ago, the SEC...more
5/29/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
NLRB ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
With increasing frequency, petitioners representing the securities industry are asking courts to decide that rules adopted by the SEC exceed the agency’s authority, even when the rules have barely left the starting blocks....more
In February, a federal district judge in the District of Columbia awarded proxy advisers a victory by vacating an SEC rule provision that they opposed....more
On August 25, 2023, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the validity of a rule promulgated in 2020 by the secretary of the commonwealth that imposes a broad fiduciary duty upon securities broker-dealers and their...more
A June 15 release published by the SEC has requested public comment relevant to, primarily, the circumstances under which any of the following types of “information providers” should be deemed “investment advisers” for...more
On January 26, 2022, the SEC proposed amendments to Form PF including:
• Requiring investment advisers to private equity funds and large investment advisers to certain hedge funds to provide current reporting of certain...more
About 20 years ago, the SEC began scrutinizing variable product fund “substitution” applications in ways that increased both the time required to obtain SEC approval and the conditions necessary to obtain such approval. The...more
A risk alert issued on November 7, 2019, by the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations underscores a continuing dilemma faced by SEC-regulated entities....more
2/10/2020
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Corporate Governance ,
Insurance Investment Products ,
Investment Adviser ,
Life Insurance ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Alert ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On June 5, 2019, the SEC adopted a four-part regulatory package that includes: new Regulation Best Interest (Reg. BI), the related “Relationship Summary” disclosure form (Form CRS), and two interpretations of the Advisers...more
7/12/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Standard of Conduct
The increasingly widespread use and acceptance of various types of online communications have made it more attractive — for both firms and clients — to conduct business online, while at the same time making it more doubtful...more
4/5/2019
/ Consumer Insurance Products ,
Electronic Communications ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Mobile Apps ,
OCIE ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Telecommunications ,
Text Messages
On April 18, the SEC voted to propose major rule changes to reconcile and clarify the standards of conduct that apply to broker-dealers and investment advisers. ...more
7/5/2018
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Churning ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Products ,
Life Insurance ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On February 7, the Massachusetts Securities Division asked for public comment on a fee table requirement for Massachusetts-registered investment advisers....more
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) has established a dedicated team charged specifically with inspecting FINRA and other FINRA-related work.
This follows through on the SEC’s...more
Speaking at the Brookings Institution this April, FINRA head Richard Ketchum emphasized the importance of a broker-dealer having a "culture" that favors the firm’s customers when their interests conflict with those of the...more
7/19/2016
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Corporate Culture ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Securities
Annual reports that the SEC must submit to Congress provide insight into how the agency is exploiting the wealth of information that private fund advisers are required to file with it on Form PF. The SEC developed Form PF...more
In a report to Congress released in March, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) takes aim at consumer agreements that require disputes to be resolved by arbitration.
The CFPB generally does not have...more
6/19/2015
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Blue Sky Laws ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Checking Accounts ,
Class Action ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mediation ,
Mobile Devices ,
Payday Loans ,
Prepaid Payment Products ,
Private Student Loans ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC is stepping lively to preserve a role in formulating any additional requirements for money managers—such as mutual funds and investment advisers—to limit perceived risks to the financial system.
Although the...more
A recent SEC Staff Legal Bulletin provides important guidance for investment advisers that use proxy advisory firms in voting clients’ securities. Nevertheless, the Bulletin (dated June 30, 2014) leaves much unresolved....more
In This Issue:
- IN THE SPOTLIGHT
..Standard CGL Policy Form Adds Data Breach Coverage Exclusion
- LIFE INSURANCE
..Class Claims Against Lincoln National Barred in Section 419 Action – Again
...more
9/30/2014
/ Accredited Investors ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Class Action ,
Commercial General Liability Policies ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Creditors ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Data Brokers ,
Debt Collection ,
DMCA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
ESOP ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Foreclosure ,
Fraud-on-the-Market ,
Hallmark ,
Investment Adviser ,
Judge Rakoff ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent-Eligible Subject Matter ,
Patents ,
Pharmaceutical Industry ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Taco Bell ,
TCPA ,
Text Messages ,
Variable Annuities ,
Whistleblowers