Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) and Gamification: Your Questions Answered
Summer Enforcement Action Review; Raising Money in a Pandemic - Investment Management Roundtable Discussion
Investment Management and Private Funds Roundtable – June 2020
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – FinTech initiatives
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Fiduciary investment advice: The patchwork emerges
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – SEC enforcement
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Complying with new SEC rules for broker-dealers
Investment Management Roundtable Discussion – Regulatory and Enforcement Update
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Establishing An Investment Platform Post-Regulation BI
Investment Management Update - Focus on Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
On August 27, 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued an order filing and simultaneously settling charges against a Swiss energy trader (the “Company”), for allegedly attempting to manipulate the European...more
Recently, FINRA accepted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) against a broker providing self-directed, online brokerage services to institutional and retail customers. The broker previously received a $595,000...more
On August 5, FINRA accepted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) against a member firm for three alleged violations related to the failure to maintain policies and procedures and supervisory systems in compliance...more
Recently, FINRA released its letter of acceptance, waiver, and consent (AWC) against a securities firm for allegedly failing to use an escrow agent to custody customer funds. Among other things, the firm deposited investor...more
On June 10, FINRA agreed to a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) from a company, addressing various regulatory infractions for improper use of social media influencers in promotional activities. From 2020 to...more
On May 1, 2024, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) proposed a new series of rules—FINRA Rule 6500 Series—regarding reporting of securities lending transactions pursuant to the requirements under new Rule...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) have, in two separate recent settled enforcement actions involving off-channel communications (“OCC”), imposed fine...more
Investment firms and other financial institutions are subject to the strict recordkeeping and communication regulations laid out by both the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities and Exchange...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC" or "Commission") has adopted new rules that further define the phrase "part of a regular business" for purposes of determining whether a person is a "dealer" or "government...more
The SEC’s ambiguous rule could have a chilling effect both on decentralized finance and on the provision of liquidity to centralized crypto exchanges. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a new rule on...more
SEC defines the phrase “as part of a regular business” to capture private funds and other market participants that take on liquidity-providing roles. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted new rules that...more
As background, the SEC adopted amendments to Rule 15b9-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (SEA Rule 15b9-1) that require a broker-dealer to become a FINRA member if the broker-dealer effects transactions other than on...more
High-frequency traders, private funds, decentralized exchange automated market makers, and even state pension plans should consider whether the expanded dealer definition triggers the need to register as a securities dealer...more
On January 10, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) simultaneously approved eleven spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on an accelerated basis based on its Order Granting Accelerated Approval of Proposed...more
On October 13, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted new Rule 10c-1a under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (1934 Act), requiring certain persons to report securities loan information to...more
On October 16, 2023, the Division of Examinations (the “Division”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) published its annual Examination Priorities for 2024 (the “Exam Priorities”). Consistent with the...more
In a series of settlements announced this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) penalized several broker-dealers for allegedly failing to file...more
Editor's Note - The following newsletter provides a roundup summarizing enforcement actions, guidance, rulemakings, and other public statements taken by a federal and/or state financial services regulatory agency,...more
On July 5, 2023, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction that raises a challenge to FINRA’s authority to use FINRA-appointed hearing officers to conduct enforcement proceedings. The injunction enables Alpine...more
2023 MID-YEAR REVIEW - In the first half of 2023, several rule changes have been proposed by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including changes to...more
I. Starting a Broker-Dealer- Becoming an owner of a broker-dealer (BD) is a time-consuming and expensive endeavor. Although the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires BD registration pursuant to the...more
As the private equity (“PE”) and venture capital (“VC”) funds industry grows and matures in Asia, managers are increasingly looking to market interests in their funds to U.S.-based investors. However, many Asia-based managers...more
The bane of every start-up company is the never-ending quest to raise capital for its operations. Newly (and not so new) formed companies seemingly would do anything to raise funds. Over the course of many decades, these...more
On September 28, 2022, FINRA settled its first formal action alleging violations of Regulation Best Interest, Rule 15l-1(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Reg BI)....more
Regulatory Developments - FinCEN Proposes Form of Report to Collect Beneficial Ownership Information and Application to Obtain FinCEN Identifiers - On January 17, FinCEN proposed a form of report to collect beneficial...more