What Is a Direct Listing?
On February 5, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted new rules – SEC Rules 3a5-4 and 3a44-2 (collectively, the “Final Rules”) – to further define the phrase “as part of a regular business” used in...more
The Corporate Transparency Act mandates certain reporting requirements for beneficial ownership information for certain companies, with the goal of preventing the illicit use of anonymous shell companies for financial crimes....more
On August 23, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted amendments (the “Amendments”) to Rule 15b9-1 (“Rule 15b9-1”) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) that generally...more
The Rule Proposal Would Significantly Broaden the Scope of Systems Required to Register as an Exchange or an ATS The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a rule proposal (the Proposal) that would...more
In This Issue. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) requested comments to draft principles for climate-related financial risk management; the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published its 2022 exam...more
On February 26, 2021, the SEC’s Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert signaling an exam focus this year on activities of investment advisers, broker-dealers, exchanges, and transfer agents related to Digital Asset...more
In April 2020, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and nearly all of the national securities exchanges announced they had formed a Cross-Market Regulation Working Group (CMRWG) to share information and reduce...more
Some key areas for brokers to assess in determining whether they’re subject to the new rules as implementation date approaches. The June 30, 2020 implementation date of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's...more
On January 7, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released its 2020 examination priorities, an annual report by the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) meant to apprise the public...more
The SEC Division of Enforcement’s 2019 Annual Report, released earlier this month, shows a continuing focus on activities involving blockchain and cryptocurrency, and its website shows an increase in cases since last fiscal...more
U.S. Developments - U.S. Federal Regulatory Developments - CFTC, FinCEN, and SEC Leaders Release a Join Statement on Digital Assets - On October 11, 2019, the heads of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”),...more
Three prominent trading exchanges did not exactly show their government overseer the love this Valentine’s week. On February 14, 2019, the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) filed a petition for review to the U.S. Court of...more
Recent actions reinforce the SEC’s commitment to applying traditional securities markets regulation in the cryptocurrency markets. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, or the Commission) recently issued a public...more
On July 18, 2018, the SEC ramped up its oversight of alternative trading systems (“ATSs”) by adopting a series of rule amendments imposing public disclosure requirements on ATSs that trade NMS (“National Market System”)...more
• Coinbase, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, recently approached the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about possible licensing as a broker-dealer. If Coinbase decides to register with the SEC, it will...more
The SEC and FINRA recently extended relief originally granted to accommodate suitability reviews of deferred variable annuities, so that the relief is now also available for mutual funds, Section 529 plans, and other...more
On September 15, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert (2015 Risk Alert) to provide broker-dealers and investment...more
On September 15, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) released a Risk Alert (the “2015 Risk Alert”) that announced its second round of cybersecurity...more
The SEC has given the go-ahead to a venture capital firm’s plan to conduct 506(b) private placements online. On August 5, 2015, the Commission issued a no-action letter to Citizen VC, Inc., saying the firm’s proposed online...more