- The 2nd Circuit has affirmed two lower court decisions dismissing complaints alleging violations of Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act. In so holding, the 2nd Circuit ruled that an investment advisor’s client does...more
- The BEA requires all U.S. persons that own or control more than 10 percent of the voting securities of a “foreign” business enterprise to file a report on its BE-10 Benchmark Survey of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad for the...more
On April 14, 2020, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) proposed, among other things, to narrow and revise the scope of information that it collects from commodity pool operators (CPOs) on its Form CPO-PQR to:
...more
- 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 March 13, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an order that provides relief to registered investment advisers (RIA) and exempt reporting advisers (ERA) that are unable to meet the filing deadline dues...more
- Federal spot month limits would expand to cover 25 physical commodity futures, as well as certain “look alike” contracts and OTC swaps on the same underlying commodity.
- Limits generally would be set at higher levels...more
In this episode, Akin Gump investment management partners Barbara Niederkofler and Jason Daniel discuss the Security and Exchange Commission’s proposed modernization of the advertising and cash solicitation rules under the...more
1/10/2020
/ Advertising ,
Books & Records ,
Cash Solicitation Rule ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Pooled Investment Vehicles ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions
On January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) will become effective for all businesses that, among other things, have at least $25 million in annual revenue and collect or use any personal information of...more
12/31/2019
/ California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment ,
Investment Firms ,
Investment Management ,
Personal Data ,
Personal Information ,
Privacy Policy
On December 19, 2019, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) adopted amendments to Rules 5130 and 5131 (the “New Issues Rules”) to permit allocations of initial public offering (IPO) profits to certain...more
12/31/2019
/ Allocation of Funds ,
Amended Rules ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Covered Person ,
Employee Benefits ,
Exemptions ,
Family Offices ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Offerings ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Pension Funds
• Effective January 1, 2020, clarifying amendments to rules regarding communications with the public and use of promotional material will go into effect.
• Effective February 1, 2020, CTA will be subject to new limitations...more
12/27/2019
/ Amended Rules ,
Asset Management ,
Brokers ,
Business Development Companies ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Pool ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
Compliance ,
CPOs ,
Electronic Communications ,
Exemptions ,
Family Offices ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Management ,
NFA ,
Offshore Funds ,
Registration Requirement ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On November 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to Securities Exchange Act Rule 14a-8, which requires a public company to include shareholder proposals in the company’s own proxy...more
11/18/2019
/ Anti-Fraud Provisions ,
Comment Period ,
Investment Adviser ,
No-Action Requests ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Solicitations ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Public Comment ,
Rule 14a-8 ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Proposals
On November 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to its rules governing proxy solicitations. If adopted in their current form, these proposals could significantly affect interactions...more
11/18/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Conflict Mineral Rules ,
Corporate Governance ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Public Comment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Solicitation
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 August 21, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3 to 2 to adopt new interpretive guidance (the “Voting Interpretation”) applicable to investment advisers regarding their proxy voting responsibilities as...more
9/6/2019
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Care ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Informed Consent ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Voting ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supervision
The U.S. Department of the Treasury requires U.S. issuers—including U.S.-resident investment funds—to report foreign residents’ holdings of U.S. securities every five years on its Treasury International Capital (TIC) Form...more
Until August 12, 2022, CPOs and CTAs may continue to file position limit disaggregation notices upon request, rather than prospectively, and exempt CTAs may continue to rely upon the “independent account controller”...more
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)
• On May 23, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a Risk Alert describing its observations in past examinations of weaknesses and best practices...more
5/29/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cloud Storage ,
Customer Information ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Data Storage Providers ,
Identity Theft ,
Identity Theft Red Flags Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulation S-ID ,
Regulation S-P ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Alert ,
Safeguards Rule ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Vendors
• By January 31, 2021, all swap associated persons of registered CPOs and CTAs must take and pass the NFA’s new swaps proficiency requirements.
• The swaps proficiency requirements mirror the proficiency testing long...more
• The NFA has determined that registered CPOs must implement an internal controls system and highlighted best practices for such a framework.
• In response to certain frequently asked questions, the NFA has also updated its...more
1/15/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Books & Records ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Pool ,
Consumer Fraud ,
CPOs ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Employee Monitoring ,
Employee Training ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Guidance Update ,
Information Security ,
Information Systems Security Program (ISSP) ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment Management ,
NFA ,
Notification Requirements ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Risk Assessment
On December 20, 2018, the staff of the Division of Investment Management (the “Staff”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued conditional no-action relief to Madison Capital Funding LLC (“Madison”), clarifying...more
• On December 14, the SEC’s OCIE issued a Risk Alert summarizing the findings of its limited-scope examination initiative relating to electronic messaging.
• Noting a “pervasive use” of electronic messaging by adviser...more
12/18/2018
/ Best Practices ,
Books & Records ,
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email Policies ,
Employee Training ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Guidance ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Text Messages
• CPOs and CTAs of offshore commodity pools, family offices and business development companies would be exempt from registering with the CFTC.
• Certain registered CPOs and CTAs would not be required to file Form CPO-PQR...more
10/17/2018
/ Business Development Companies ,
CFTC ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Pool ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
CPO ,
Exemptions ,
Family Offices ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Registration Requirement ,
Reporting Requirements
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