Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or the Commission) unanimously voted to adopt amendments to Regulation S-P (Reg S-P), which is the SEC’s regulation governing the treatment and safeguarding of...more
6/11/2024
/ Amended Regulation ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Covered Entities ,
Customer Privacy ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Investors ,
Personal Data ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulation S-P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sensitive Personal Information
On February 6, 2024, by a vote of 3-2 along party lines, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or the Commission) adopted Rules 3a5-4 and 3a44-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act), which...more
2/27/2024
/ Dealers ,
Government Securities ,
Liquidity ,
Market Participants ,
New Rules ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Dealers ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Traders
On January 9, 2024, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority published its 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report. Previously titled Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program, the Report is released...more
1/18/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Execution ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptoassets ,
Electronic Communications ,
Equity Securities ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fixed Income Investments ,
Public Communications ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulation SHO ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Investors ,
Retail Sales ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On December 13, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted (4-1) to adopt new requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), which will restructure the clearance and settlement of...more
1/2/2024
/ Amended Rules ,
CFTC ,
Clearing Agencies ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Hedge Funds ,
New Regulations ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Repurchase Agreements ,
Repurchases ,
Secondary Markets ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Settlement ,
Treasury Markets
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposes to amend Regulation Systems Compliance and Integrity (Reg SCI) to update and expand the regulatory oversight of the core technology of the U.S. securities markets.1 The...more
5/9/2023
/ Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Clearing Agencies ,
Comment Period ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Repositories ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Regulation SCI ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Security-Based Swaps ,
Swap Data Repositories ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Vendors
On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) released four sweeping rulemaking proposals that would change market structure as we currently know it and introduce a new federal standard...more
On March 28, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed new Rules 3a5-4 and 3a44-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) (collectively, the Proposed Rules). The Proposed Rules seek to...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed significant changes to the regulation of securities trading systems that use non-firm trading interest and alternative trading systems (ATSs) that trade government...more
On July 14, 2021, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) announced settled charges against Blotics, Ltd., f/d/b/a Coinschedule Ltd. (Coinschedule), the UK-based operator of Coinschedule.com, a...more
8/4/2021
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Extraterritoriality Rules ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Offerings ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Statutory Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
Website Owner Liability ,
Websites
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed to amend Regulation ATS under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) for alternative trading systems (ATSs) that trade government securities or repurchase and...more
On October 7, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed to address long-standing questions regarding the applicability of the broker registration requirements to finders for small and emerging businesses....more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Fixed Income Market Structure Advisory Committee (FIMSAC) held its latest meeting on February 10, 2020. The SEC formed FIMSAC to provide advice to the SEC on the efficiency and...more
FINRA released Regulatory Notice 20-08, “Pandemic-Related Business Continuity Planning, Guidance and Regulatory Relief,” (the Notice) on March 9, 2020. The Notice primarily serves as (1) a reminder of firms’ obligations to...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) introduced two new initiatives related to the fixed income markets. FINRA proposed to establish a central depository for the public dissemination of new issue...more
On January 14, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy issued an Investor Alert urging investors to use caution before investing in “initial exchange offerings”...more
1/27/2020
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Digital Assets ,
Due Diligence ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) ,
Investors ,
Offerings ,
Online Platforms ,
Regulation ATS ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unregistered Securities
On June 5, 2019, the SEC adopted a package of rulemakings and interpretations designed to enhance the quality and transparency of investors’ relationships with broker-dealers and investment advisers. The focal point of this...more
9/3/2019
/ Books & Records ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Deadlines ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulation BI ,
Retail Investors ,
Risk Management ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On July 18, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) voted unanimously to adopt significant amendments to Regulation ATS (Reg ATS). The amendments, which impose heightened public disclosure...more
On March 14, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed Rule 610T of Regulation NMS under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to conduct a pilot program (Pilot) to study the effect of equity exchange...more
On January 11, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Fixed Income Market Structure Advisory Committee (FIMSAC) held its inaugural meeting. The SEC formed the FIMSAC to provide advice to the SEC on the...more
What Is an ICO?
An ICO, or initial coin offering, is the sale of virtual coins or tokens, often as a means of capital raising by startup companies that are involved in blockchain technology. Depending on the terms of the...more
8/7/2017
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Howey ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
LedgerX ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
On October 24, 2016, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) held a conference on “The Evolving Structure of the US Treasury Market” (Conference). The Conference was a sequel to the first annual such event where...more
On April 26, 2016, the Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee (EMSAC or Committee) held its fourth meeting at the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission or SEC) in Washington DC. The Committee is considering...more
On April 7, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) approved the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (“FINRA”) proposal to amend NASD Rule 1032 (Categories of Representative Registration) to require...more
The Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee (EMSAC or Committee) held its third meeting at the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission or SEC) in Washington DC on February 2, 2016. The Committee is considering...more
The dramatically changing market for US Treasury securities raises questions and concerns for the public and regulators alike. For example, as with the equities markets, high-frequency trading has entered the US Treasury...more