In this issue: The SEC’s Report of Its Sweep Examination of Retail Structured Products; RIC Commodity Ruling Update; and In re Lehman Brothers and Principal Protection.

Excerpt from 'The SEC's Report...':

As many readers know, on July 27, 2011, the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a summary report identifying common weaknesses that it observed in sales of retail structured products during its sweep examination in 2008 and 2009. The report describes measures that broker dealers may take to better protect retail investors from fraud and abusive sales practices. In this article, we provide an analysis and some observations about the report.

The report summarizes the results of the SEC’s sweep examination of the retail structured products business of 11 different broker-dealers, which cover a cross-section of the industry.