PLI's inSecurities Podcast - Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga’s Core Values
Investor Protection for ESG Investing and Complex Products
On March 18, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges against two SEC registered investment advisers for making false and misleading statements about their purported use of artificial...more
Chair Gensler Continues to Be Outspoken About the Risks of AI Technologies - Chair Gensler’s warnings of the potential risks associated with the use of AI technologies in the securities industry recently continued with...more
What’s in a name? According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, quite a bit. On September 20, 2023, the SEC adopted amendments to the Investment Company Act of 1940, most notably to the “Names Rule” governing the names...more
Like other savvy businesses, investment advisers and broker-dealers have increasingly embraced the use of predictive data analytics, artificial intelligence, and similar technologies (AI-like technologies) to help generate...more
On August 23, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to adopt new rules and amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act) to the regulation of private fund advisers (Final Rule). The...more
On May 3, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to adopt certain amendments (Final Amendments) to Form PF reporting requirements. Form PF is a confidential, regulatory reporting form filed by SEC-registered...more
On May 5, 2023, the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, proposed a “landmark” bill to increase regulations (again) on the cryptocurrency industry, thereby supposedly protecting investors, consumers, and the broader...more
Late last month the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged JP Morgan, UBS and Trade Station with violations of Regulation S-ID based on a range of inadequacies in their identity theft red flag policies and...more
On February 9, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) voted to propose a suite of new rules and amendments (the “Proposal”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”). If...more
On February 9, the SEC proposed new cybersecurity risk management regulations for investment advisers, registered investment companies (funds), and business development companies....more
New York Attorney General Letitia James provided additional guidance on recent Investor Protection Bureau (“IPB”) rule amendments intended to increase transparency into the investment adviser representatives and securities...more
In April 2020, the Investor Protection Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s office (OAG) announced its efforts to modernize the state’s securities laws. As part of this initiative, the OAG proposed the registration...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently warned financial professionals that imposters are attempting to collect personal information of investors by spoofing financial professionals’ websites, reaching...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published a Risk Alert on August 12 highlighting compliance considerations created by the coronavirus (COVID-19)...more
On January 22, 2016, the members of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) released the Senior Model Act. It was developed and approved to serve as a model statute for states to adopt to target...more
The Enforcement Division (Division) of the Securities and Exchange Commission released its Annual Report on November 6, 2019, summarizing the year’s enforcement activity. It was a record-setting year for the Division due to...more
The staff of the Division of Investment Management of the Securities and Exchange Commission (Staff) issued a no-action letter on July 9, 2019 regarding multi-manager exemptive relief for registered open-ended investment...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has published frequently asked questions (FAQs) for complying with new FINRA Rule 2165 (Financial Exploitation of Specified Adults) and amendments to FINRA Rule 4512...more
On September 14, 2017, OCIE published a Risk Alert identifying issues associated with Rule 206(4)(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advertising Rule”). The Risk Alert was based on observations of the OCIE staff...more
Tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth: that’s the message to registered investment advisors from the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) in a recent risk alert about the SEC’s...more
The staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated in August that it intends to permit the expiration of rule 206(3)-3T (Rule) under the Investment Adviser Act of 1940 (Advisers Act). The SEC originally...more
In the last several months, plaintiffs have filed multiple class action lawsuits against plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and stable value fund providers. These lawsuits, which have involved 401(k) plans sponsored by large...more
On May 23, 2016, at FINRA’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., Richard Ketchum, FINRA’s chairman and CEO, delivered a speech that shed a little light on FINRA’s recent sweep letter relating to firm culture....more
Under the SEC Rule 206(4)-2, the “custody rule,” registered investment advisers with custody of client funds or securities are required to take a number of steps designed to safeguard those client assets. One such step is...more
Non-Enforcement - FINRA’s Proposed Pay-to-Play Rule Will Impact Investment Advisers - Late last year (December 24, 2015), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) submitted a proposed rule to the U.S....more