From 1 August 2024, the UK changed its rules on how payments are made for investment research. UK firms may now use bundled payments for third-party research and trading commissions, subject to certain requirements being...more
8/15/2024
/ AIFM ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Listing Rules ,
MiFID II ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Research Funding ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UCITS ,
UK
On May 22, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives (the “House”) passed the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act (“FIT21” or the “Bill”) with bipartisan support by a vote of 279-136. FIT21 provides for...more
6/3/2024
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Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins ,
U.S. House
On May 16, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted amendments to Regulation S-P (“Reg S-P”) that are intended to help protect investors’ privacy from the “expanded use of technology and corresponding...more
5/29/2024
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Compliance ,
Customer Information ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Notice Requirements ,
Personal Information ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Privacy Laws ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulation S-P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On December 13, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or “Commission”) adopted rule amendments (the “Amendments”) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that will, in effect, require direct participants...more
On November 1, 2023, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) issued its Second Amendment (the “Amendment”) to its Cybersecurity Requirements for Financial Services Companies adopted in 2017, codified in...more
The issue of how firms should pay for investment research continues to be a controversial topic in the financial markets. The U.S. has maintained the approach it adopted before the mid-2000s, which is to permit investment...more
7/3/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Market Research ,
MiFID II ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
UK
The issue of how investment research should be paid for by investors is controversial, long-standing and seemingly perennially the subject of legislative iterations, failure and unintended consequence and more reform. Before...more
On February 15, 2023, the SEC adopted several changes to shorten the standard settlement cycle for securities transactions to T+1 effective May 28, 2024...more
On January 10, 2023, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) issued its 2023 Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program (the “Report”). The Report, which is a more comprehensive version of FINRA’s...more
On October 3, 2022, as lawmakers in the United States continue to debate which agencies should regulate crypto-based activities, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) released its Report on Digital Asset Financial...more
11/3/2022
/ CFTC ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Assets ,
Digital Currency ,
FDIC ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
FSOC ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Oversight Committee ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On March 9, 2022, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets. According to an accompanying fact sheet, it is the “first ever, whole-of-government approach” to regulating...more
In honor of International Women’s Day, Shearman & Sterling is hosting a webinar on the contributions women are making to the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries.
According to a recent Gemini report, women make up more...more
On December 17, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) staff (“Staff”) issued a statement (the “Statement”), which summarizes certain observations made by the SEC’s Standards of Conduct Implementation...more
On October 7, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed an order (the “Proposed Order”) that would allow natural persons to engage in limited activities assisting issuers in raising capital without...more
The 2020 Election Results and Implications for the Financial Services Industry -
Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has won the 2020 presidential election and the Democratic Party will remain in control of the House...more
Proposed Amendments to Form 13F Would Increase the Reporting Threshold from $100 Million to $3.5 Billion, Among Other Changes
On July 10, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a proposed rule (the...more
On July 1, 2020, the U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) issued Regulatory Notice 20-21 (the “Regulatory Notice”), which provides guidance to broker-dealers on compliance with FINRA Rule 2210...more
COVID-19 has acted as an accelerator, bringing into play scenarios which were previously only contingencies and making contingencies of (and requiring planning for) situations which were previously barely imaginable. The debt...more
On April 8, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), adopted amendments that would allow business development companies (BDCs) and registered closed-end funds (CEFs), to use the securities offering rules that are...more
As the financial markets react to the COVID-19 pandemic, broker-dealers are increasingly looking for mechanisms to increase liquidity. Complicating matters is the fact that broker-dealers seeking liquidity must comply with...more
On April 16, 2020, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) released a chart detailing each state’s regulatory response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has...more
On April 7, 2020, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued two Risk Alerts: one focused on examinations of compliance with Regulation Best Interest (“Regulation BI”); and one focused on...more
On June 5, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted Regulation Best Interest (Regulation BI). The goal of Regulation BI is to improve investor protection by: (1) enhancing the obligations that apply...more
Rule Amendments Institute Streamlined Shelf Offering Filing Process, and other Substantive, Organizational, Clarifying and Terminology Changes -
On March 20, 2020, FINRA announced in Regulatory Notice 20-10 that it has...more
As the world responds to COVID-19, we have identified a wide variety of compliance and legal considerations for asset managers. We previously summarized a select list of these considerations on March 18, 2020. Given the...more