2022 FCA Year in Review and Emerging Trends for 2023
Spitzer "Disappointed" in Wall Street's Regulators
CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero recently criticized the agency’s longstanding practice of settling enforcement cases without seeking admissions of wrongdoing (so-called “no-admit/no-deny” settlements). She suggests...more
The constitutional spotlight is shining on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In the last several weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case seeking broader federal jurisdiction for constitutional...more
On Sept. 27, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the most recent legal challenge to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) practice of using “no-deny” consent agreements to resolve civil...more
The private equity industry should carefully consider the implications of a recent Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") enforcement action. In it, the SEC, for the first time, sanctioned an SEC-registered private equity...more
The action may have significant implications for PE advisers performing brokerage services; highlights SEC’s focus on advisers receiving transaction-based compensation. On June 1, 2016, the Securities and Exchange...more
The penny stock world can be rough. So rough that breaking the rules in that corner of the securities markets ban bring its own kind of injunction, one that’s much more specific than the typical don’t-break-the-law-anymore...more
The SEC is continuing its pattern of establishing “standards of conduct” for the private equity industry through speeches, enforcement actions, and public settlements. After foreshadowing its concerns in various speeches over...more
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC has agreed to pay $1 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges that it failed to protect customer information. In an Order issued today, Morgan Stanley agreed to settle...more
On June 1, 2016, the SEC announced a settlement with Blackstreet Capital Management, LLC and Murry N. Gunty, Blackstreet's managing member and principal owner. As a registered investment adviser based in Chevy Chase,...more
On March 1, 2016, the SEC announced that Qualcomm Incorporated, a San Diego-based wireless telecommunication product company, agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle charges that its actions violated the Foreign Corrupt...more
"Wherefore Art Thou Due Process?" Part III - Why it matters: It is time for another installment in our continuing "Wherefore Art Thou Due Process?" coverage into the ongoing constitutional challenges to the SEC's...more
Regulatory Developments: FINRA Requests Comment on Rules Relating to Financial Exploitation of Vulnerable Adults - On Oct. 15 FINRA published Regulatory Notice 15-37, requesting comment on proposed amendments to...more
The SEC settled charges with two investment advisers to a closed-end fund based on allegations that the advisers failed to adequately disclose a change in investment strategy to the fund’s board and its investors. The SEC...more
On October 8, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged an investment adviser and a broker dealer for failing to maintain and enforce polices to prevent misuse of material non-public information. Without admitting...more
Results from the SEC’s First Round of Cybersecurity Examinations - On February 3, 2015, the OCIE published a risk alert summarizing its findings from its examinations of over 100 registered investment advisers and...more
U.S. Structured Warrant Programs: Introduction - U.S. and non-U.S. banks have offered structured warrants in the U.S. to address the needs of both institutional and high-net worth investors. This article will...more
Highlights Areas of High Risk and Examination Priorities for Financial Industry Firms - On September 15, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations (OCIE),...more
A registered investment adviser agreed to settle SEC charges that it failed to adopt adequate cybersecurity policies and procedures reasonably designed to protect customer records and information as required by Rule 30(a) of...more
On September 22, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the settlement of an enforcement action against a St. Louis-based registered investment adviser (Adviser) brought under Rule 30(a) of Regulation...more
On September 8, the SEC charged a sports supplements and nutrition company, its former audit committee chairman and three of its current and former executive officers with committing accounting, disclosure and other...more
Without admitting or denying the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s findings, Polycom Inc. settled with the agency on Tuesday, March 31, 2015, over alleged insufficient internal controls and disclosure violations for...more
The SEC announced its first enforcement action against a company for using improperly restrictive language in confidentiality agreements with the potential to stifle the whistleblowing process....more
On March 13, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged eight officers, directors and major shareholders for failing to update material changes in their stock ownership disclosures on Schedule 13D in connection with...more
On October 16, in a groundbreaking trading manipulation case, the Securities and Exchange Commission entered an Order instituting a settled administrative proceeding against high-frequency trading firm Athena Capital...more
The SEC charged a private equity sponsor with breaching its fiduciary duty to a pair of private equity funds by sharing expenses between a company in one’s portfolio and a company in the other’s portfolio in a manner that...more