The SEC has proposed to require that mutual funds — including funds supporting variable insurance products — provide “consistent, comparable, and reliable” disclosure that is meaningful to investors about the role of...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
Rule changes recently proposed by the SEC would shorten the time within which most securities transactions effected by a broker-dealer must be settled. Specifically, most settlements would be required to occur by the first...more
It’s planting season for the SEC, and among the seedlings is File Number S7-04-22, a proposed cybersecurity rule intended to increase regulation of advisers’ and investment companies’ cybersecurity preparedness. As currently...more
SEC Chair Gary Gensler closed out 2021 with remarks at a recent Institutional Limited Partners Association Summit, focusing on a number of issues facing private equity and hedge funds....more
SEC rule changes effective in March of this year have replaced the patchwork of guidance and rules developed over many decades to determine when securities offerings should be “integrated” with one another when deciding...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
SEC Divided on Securities Law Exemptions -
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce in October published an explanation of her dissent from an SEC enforcement action concerning certain collective investment vehicles established by a...more
SEC Replaces Rather than Revises -
In late October, the SEC approved a wholesale replacement for the patchwork of interpretive and no-action positions it had developed over more than 40 years to regulate fund use of...more
Implementing all the reforms adopted by the SEC in connection with its variable insurance product summary prospectus rule (Rule 498A) is potentially a major undertaking, depending on the number and nature of an insurer’s...more
As spring begins, and after many years of fertilizing and watering by industry representatives, the SEC has adopted comprehensive reforms to its disclosure requirements for variable annuities (VAs) and variable life insurance...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)
The Supreme Court’s June decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media has made it easier for federal entities to resist certain Freedom of Information Act requests for confidential business information that the...more
An April 11, 2019, Office of Management and Budget Memorandum seeks to bring certain guidance issued by federal agencies, including the SEC, under more effective scrutiny. By its terms, the Memorandum applies to agency rules,...more
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
In Release No. 33-10618 (Mar. 20, 2019), the SEC adopted amendments (the “Amendments”) that consolidate, conform, and otherwise refine numerous requirements applicable to filings with the agency. ...more
4/9/2019
/ Consumer Insurance Products ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Life Insurance ,
Mutual Funds ,
New Amendments ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Variable Annuities
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
Rule amendments proposed in October by the SEC could impact insurers whose obligations under certain types of annuity contracts have been guaranteed by the insurers’ affiliates....more
New York Pushes Mutual Fund Active Share Disclosure -
New York’s Attorney General issued a report on its recent investigation of fees charged by actively managed equity mutual funds and a metric known as “Active Share.”...more
7/23/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Annuities ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Churning ,
Class Action ,
COI Rates ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Data Security ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Investment Products ,
Investment Companies ,
Life Insurance ,
Lucia v SEC ,
MassMutual ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
Policy Terms ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SLUSA ,
Unclaimed Property
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)
EXPECTFOCUS® is a quarterly review of developments in the insurance and financial services industry, provided on a complimentary basis to clients and friends of Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A.
...more
5/1/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Best Interest Standard ,
CAFA ,
Class Action ,
COI Rates ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Elder Abuse ,
Failure To Pay ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statute of Limitations ,
TCPA
EXPECTFOCUS is a quarterly review of developments in the insurance and financial services industry, provided on a complimentary basis to clients and friends of Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A.
...more
1/18/2018
/ Annuities ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Innovation ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
EXPECTFOCUS® is a quarterly review of developments in the insurance and financial services industry, provided on a complimentary basis to clients and friends of Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A.
...more
10/20/2017
/ Annuities ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Big Data ,
Blockchain ,
Capital Raising ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Elder Abuse ,
ETFs ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Insurance Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
OCIE ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
STOLI
The SEC has proposed for comment major revisions in the disclosures auditors are required to make in their reports on financial statements audited pursuant to Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) standards....more
Regulators Demand Third-Party Risk Management -
While third-party risk management has been a required component of an effective enterprise risk management program for many years, the topic is receiving elevated attention...more
4/18/2017
/ Article III ,
Clean Shares ,
Elder Abuse ,
Exploitation ,
Fiduciary Exception ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Life Insurance ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
Reinsurance ,
Sales Commissions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Settlement Cycles ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Third Party Funding ,
Third-Party Risk ,
Unfair Competition Law (UCL) ,
Variable Annuities ,
Vulnerable Victims