The First Circuit, in a closely watched securities case, reversed a $93 million summary judgment ruling for the Securities and Exchange Commission this April. ...more
Who may be interested: Registered Investment Advisers, Mutual Funds, Compliance Officers - Quick Take: The SEC settled charges against two affiliated registered investment advisers, alleging that the advisers failed to...more
In recent years, the SEC has been conducting a nationwide and industry-wide “sweep” of investment advisory firms, pursuant to which it has opened investigations and brought enforcement actions against a multitude of...more
We are actively looking for circumstances where an adviser is financially conflicted by incentives that could affect investment recommendations to clients. ... And I will tell you: the more we look, the more undisclosed or...more
SEC Proposes to Update Accredited Investor Definition to Increase Access to Investments - On December 18, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to the definition of “accredited investor” in...more
On October 18, 2019, the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions that address certain matters regarding the disclosure of conflicts of interest involving the receipt...more
The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Investment Management released frequently asked questions (FAQs) on October 18, 2019, which discuss certain compensation arrangements and related...more
Over the past several years, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement activity has eroded the stability of the once-standard lineup of share classes available to mutual fund investors. Starting with...more
In this issue, we summarize regulatory, litigation and industry developments from May to September 2019 impacting the investment management sector, including SEC action on standards of conduct for broker-dealers and...more
On August 29, 2019, the SEC filed a complaint against a registered investment adviser alleging failures to disclose four categories of conflicts of interest and seeking disgorgement of $10 million in undisclosed compensation....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
In Robare Group v. SEC, the court clarified the meaning of “willfully” under Section 207 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. A willful omission requires that a person “subjectively intended to omit material information.”...more
On April 30, 2019, the D.C. Circuit issued an important decision in Robare Group, Ltd. v. SEC, Slip Op. No. 16-1453, which rejected the long-standing approach of the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission or SEC) that...more
On April 30, 2019, US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit decided an important case involving the disclosure obligations of investment advisers. The case decided that an adviser’s disclosure that it “may” have a conflict of...more
On August 7, 2017, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a Risk Alert providing a summary of the staff’s observations from sweep exams of broker-dealers, investment advisers and funds...more
In an attempt to “increase transparency, strengthen compliance, and inform the public and the financial services industry about key risks,” the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published its 2013...more