Total monetary value of settlements fell to lowest level in last eight fiscal years. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed 91 enforcement actions against public companies and subsidiaries in fiscal year...more
Who may be interested: Registered Investment Advisers. Quick Take: The SEC recently settled charges against an investment adviser (Adviser) and one of the Adviser’s partial owners for breach of fiduciary duty in...more
In our October 2019 update, we discussed how the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has remained sharply focused in recent years on the conflicts of interest related to investment advisers’ selection...more
On Aug. 1, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) charged Commonwealth Equity Services LLC, dba Commonwealth Financial Network (Commonwealth), a registered independent investment adviser to private clients (but not...more
Over the past year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ramped up its scrutiny of cryptocurrencies and other digital token offerings. On Sept. 11, 2018, the SEC escalated its crackdown when it announced a pair of...more
New Rules, Proposed Rules, Guidance and Alerts – SEC STAFF GUIDANCE AND ALERTS - SEC Staff Issues Guidance on Cryptocurrency-related Holdings - On January 18, 2018, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment...more
Non-Enforcement - Mutual Fund Directors Must Be Vigilant in Addressing Risks - In remarks to the Mutual Fund Directors Forum, SEC Chair Mary Jo White outlined some of the risks and challenges that mutual fund...more
Ponzi scheme cases have, of course, become a staple of SEC enforcement since the discovery of Madoff’s unprecedented scheme. While there seems to be a virtually endless number of these cases centered on the preverbal “to good...more
Non-Enforcement - SEC Decides Against Mounting an Appeal in Koch Ruling - The July 2015 ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court in Koch v. SEC will apparently not be challenged by the SEC. The Court ruled in that...more
Are the Circuits A-Splitting? The Ninth Circuit Declines to Follow the Second Circuit's Insider Trading Decision in U.S. v. Newman - Why it matters: On July 6, 2015, the Ninth Circuit in U.S. v. Salman declined to...more
The SEC’s Semiannual Regulatory Agenda. The Federal Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs posted the SEC’s most recent Semiannual Regulatory Agenda which, in compliance with the Regulatory Flexibility Act, identifies...more
The Commission filed another settled action based on undisclosed conflicts involving an investment adviser. In this proceeding Respondents, principals of the adviser, failed to disclose a fee splitting arrangement with an...more