On April 12, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission imposed fines and other sanctions on five registered investment advisers (RIAs) for violations of the Investment Adviser Marketing Rule (Rule 206(4)-1), which has...more
On April 3, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its first enforcement action against a registered investment adviser (RIA) with no ties to a broker-dealer regarding so-called “off-channel”...more
4/10/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fund Managers ,
Investigations ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations
A recent enforcement action against two affiliated wealth management businesses raises concerns over whether and how other registered investment advisers will be subject to sanctions for issues that arise in the ordinary...more
8/31/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Censures ,
Corrective Actions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Funds ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement ,
Wealth Management ,
Wells Fargo
With the announcement of the new Private Funds Rule by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a full text of the amendments is linked below. The amendments are highlighted to show the changes from the initial...more
Key Point -
Just shy of three weeks after Judge Torres held that the digital asset XRP is not itself a security,1 Judge Rakoff held that the SEC had adequately pled that certain digital assets, such as the UST and LUNA...more
Late last year, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler warned private fund managers that they should be prepared for increased regulatory scrutiny. Shortly thereafter, in February 2022, the SEC announced...more
Key Points -
The SEC and the FCA each publish annual reports, which can offer a useful insight into their enforcement actions.
The data in the reports only represents a snapshot of the regulators’ activities, but is...more
Key Points -
The SEC’s Division of Examinations published a risk alert that, in the context of a focus on MNPI, highlighted observed deficiencies related to the use of alternative data by private fund managers and other...more
Key Points -
The DOJ and CFTC have filed insider trading charges against a Houston-based energy trader for allegedly disclosing confidential information to a third party who then used the information to trade profitably....more
Private funds should be prepared for increased oversight from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), following a landmark year of enforcement cases. In 2021, the Commission brought 159 enforcement actions against...more
2/3/2022
/ Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form PF ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations
On September 23, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged a quantitative analyst for “a scheme to violate the federal securities laws by using material nonpublic information to secretly trade ahead of (i.e.,...more
Key Points -
The SEC has charged App Annie, Inc. and its former CEO with violations of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5, which constitute the primary mechanism for enforcing insider trading violations.
This...more
On August 30, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced three enforcement actions against registered investment advisers for alleged cybersecurity failures involving cloud-based email systems. All three actions...more
Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint in federal court in California premised on the novel legal theory that the insider trading laws apply where an insider uses confidential information...more
8/25/2021
/ Acquisitions ,
Confidential Information ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Insider Trading ,
Material Nonpublic Information ,
Misappropriation ,
Private Funds ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
Scienter ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
In the last three weeks, the Division of Enforcement of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed several complaints and resolved a number of open enforcement actions involving investment advisers. At first...more
- On June 23, 2020, the SEC and OCIE issued its latest Risk Alert describing common deficiencies it has observed in recent examinations of registered investment advisers that manage private equity funds or hedge funds.
-...more
7/6/2020
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fees ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Non-Public Information ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- In Liu v. SEC, No. 18-1501, the Supreme Court upheld the SEC’s ability to obtain disgorgement as a form of equitable relief in civil actions in federal court, pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5).
- However, the Court...more
6/30/2020
/ 15 U.S.C. § 78u(d)(5) ,
Administrative Authority ,
Business Expenses ,
Calculation of Damages ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equitable Relief ,
Kokesh v SEC ,
Lack of Authority ,
Liu v Securities and Exchange Commission ,
Net Profits ,
Remedies ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Market participants should review and assess their compliance procedures to prevent and detect insider trading risks associated with COVID-19.
- Companies should increase their vigilance regarding cybersecurity threats...more
4/1/2020
/ CFTC ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
Insider Trading ,
Investors ,
Phishing Scams ,
Pump and Dump ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Wire Fraud
On September 12, 2019, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced a settlement with Phillip Capital Inc. (PCI or the “Company”), a registered futures commission merchant (FCM), after hackers successfully...more
10/14/2019
/ CFTC ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Information Systems Security Program (ISSP) ,
Investment Adviser ,
National Futures Association ,
Phishing Scams ,
Policies and Procedures
While the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought several enforcement actions in 2018-19, the most significant new developments were published interpretations and alerts. Other agencies, such as the Commodity Futures...more
10/7/2019
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Corruption ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FinCEN ,
Form ADV ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
OCIE ,
Private Funds ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Voting Securities
On June 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a comprehensive interpretation (the “Interpretation”) of the fiduciary duties that investment advisers owe to their clients under the Investment Advisers...more
6/13/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Informed Consent ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Despite the new administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have both continued to make novel interpretations and to bring enforcement actions that break...more
10/11/2018
/ Acquisitions ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Advertising ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Counter-Terrorist ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FinCEN ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Management ,
Mergers ,
NFA ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Volcker Rule
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff made official statements regarding when a token may or may no longer be a security
• The SEC continued to bring actions related to cryptocurrency offerings against...more
9/24/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Counter-Terrorist ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Digital Currency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
FATF ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Income Taxes ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
IRS ,
Jurisdiction ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
National Futures Association ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency ,
Websites
On April 18, 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a new interpretation (the “Proposed Interpretation”) of the fiduciary duties of investment advisers under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as...more
5/8/2018
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On April 12, 2016, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) continued its enforcement of reasonable cybersecurity controls, announcing cease and desist proceedings against a broker-dealer and two of its principals...more