Podcast — UK FinReg Focus Areas in 2025: Wholesale Markets
Brexit & Financial Services: Preparing for the End of the Transition Period
Major Crypto Exchanges Launch New Products, Obtain Foreign Licenses - According to a recent company blog post, a major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange has launched a new staking product that will allow clients residing in...more
From 1 August 2024, the UK changed its rules on how payments are made for investment research. UK firms may now use bundled payments for third-party research and trading commissions, subject to certain requirements being...more
In our previous alert, Paying for Buy-Side Investment Research: Will the FCA’s Third Way Ease the US-UK Divide?, we discussed the consultation issued by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on proposed rules on payment...more
During his remarks at a meeting of the International Bar Association’s Asset Management Industry Conference on Global Challenges and Opportunities in Boston, Commissioner Uyeda commented on investment research and the...more
Expiration of SEC Staff’s No Action Letters Providing Relief to Broker-Dealers Regarding MiFID II Research Requirements - On July 3, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) let expire a long-standing...more
The issue of how firms should pay for investment research continues to be a controversial topic in the financial markets. The U.S. has maintained the approach it adopted before the mid-2000s, which is to permit investment...more
The U.K. Investment Research Review call for evidence was published on April 3, 2023. Relevant background to these issues is set out in our recent client note, “MiFID II: An Update on the Rules for Unbundling of Research,” in...more
The EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (“MiFID II”), which came into effect on January 3, 2018, raised concerns that U.S. broker-dealers that would receive “hard dollars” for research from firms subject to MiFID...more
On July 26, 2022, William Birdthistle, the Director of the Division of Investment Management of the US Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”), gave remarks at the Practising Law Institute’s annual Investment Management...more
The staff of the US Securities and Exchange Commission division of Investment Management announced that it would allow its October 26, 2017 no-action letter to SIFMA to expire on July 23, 2023—raising questions about the...more
A new European regime on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial sector will come into force from March 2021, after first being announced in 2018 during the European Commission’s Action Plan on Sustainable...more
BROKER-DEALER - SEC Chairman Clayton Provides Public Statement Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS - On June 15, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton made a public statement (Statement) covering...more
BROKER-DEALER - SEC Proposes to Modernize Infrastructure for NMS Securities Market Data - On February 14, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed to modernize the infrastructure for the collection,...more
In this issue, we summarize regulatory, litigation and industry developments from October 2019 to early January 2020 impacting the investment management sector, including SEC action on use of derivatives by registered...more
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts – PROPOSED RULES – SEC Proposes Rule Changes for Proxy Advisory Firms – On November 5, 2019, the SEC issued a release proposing amendments to the federal proxy rules...more
On October 26, 2017, the SEC staff issued a no-action letter providing relief to broker-dealers that provide research that constitutes “investment advice” under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to investment managers...more
BROKER-DEALER - FINRA Expands Transparency Initiative Related to OTC Equity Trading Volume - The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) previously announced an expansion to its ongoing transparency initiative...more
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts - PROPOSED RULES – SEC Proposes Rule Changes for Proxy Advisory Firms – On November 5, 2019, the SEC issued a release proposing amendments to the federal proxy rules...more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has welcomed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s extension of no-action relief addressing a potential conflict between U.S. regulation and the inducements and research provisions...more
The extension benefits market participants in the US seeking to comply with EU MiFID II research rules, but significant issues remain. Key Points: ..The no-action relief has been extended for three additional years from...more
On November 4, 2019, the Office of the Chief Counsel of the SEC's Division of Investment Management extended the temporary no-action relief from compliance with the registration and other provisions of the Investment Advisers...more
SEC/CORPORATE – SEC Proposes to Modernize Business, Legal Proceedings and Risk Factor Disclosures Required by Regulation S-K – On August 8, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed amendments to modernize the...more
We recently discussed the topic of risk management as it relates to artificial intelligence (AI) in financial services, and suggested certain tips for the financial services sector. This article is the first of a series that...more
BROKER-DEALER - FINRA Issues Guidance on FOCUS Reporting for Operating Leases - On March 19, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) released Regulatory Notice 19-08 to provide guidance to members for...more
Cboe Withdraws and Then Submits a Proposed Rulemaking for a Bitcoin ETF - On January 22, 2019, Cboe BZX Exchange (Cboe) withdrew its proposed rulemaking with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Had the...more