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
/ CFTC ,
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
/ Broker-Dealer ,
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
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
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 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
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
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
The COVID-19 outbreak and the breakdown of negotiations between oil producers have contributed to a fall in the stock market, ending the longest bull market in history and bringing about a period of volatility. As of March...more
As the world responds to COVID-19, we have identified a number of compliance and legal considerations for asset managers. We summarize a select list of these in our note below....more
3/20/2020
/ Asset Management ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Commodity Pool ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
Compliance ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Threats ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Futures ,
Information Security ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Liquidity ,
NFA ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Short Selling ,
Telecommuting ,
Valuation
In light of the threats posed by natural disasters, pandemics and civil disorder, among other events, businesses of all types must formulate responses to address significant business disruptions (“SBDs”) and the safety of...more
3/5/2020
/ Best Practices ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Business Disruption ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Health and Safety ,
MSRB ,
Natural Disasters ,
Remote Working ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Vendor Contacts
On June 5, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted Regulation Best Interest (“Regulation BI”) to improve investor protection by establishing a standard of conduct for broker-dealers making...more
In a December 18, 2019 release, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed to amend the definition of “accredited investor” in Rule 501 of Regulation D and the definition of “qualified institutional buyer” in Rule...more
1/9/2020
/ Accredited Investors ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Qualified Institutional Buyers ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulation D ,
Rule 144A ,
Rule 501 ,
Rule 506 ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities Act ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
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
On November 4, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to rules governing investment adviser advertisements and payment to solicitors under the Investment Advisers Act. The comment period...more
11/18/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form ADV ,
General Solicitation ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Guidance ,
No-Action Letters ,
OCIE ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reasonable Care ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Two facts may come as a surprise about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s existing investment adviser advertising rule: that it literally fits on one page, and that it has not been updated since 1961. These facts...more
11/18/2019
/ Advertising ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form ADV ,
General Solicitation ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Guidance ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)