More than five years after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to vacate the Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2016 fiduciary rule, the DOL has proposed a new rule that, once again, attempts to re-define when financial...more
On April 26, 2022, the Division of Examinations (the “Division”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Risk Alert listing notable examples of deficiencies that its staff has identified regarding investment...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 June 23, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a Risk Alert (the “Risk Alert”) highlighting several problem areas that it has identified...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
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
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
In an Order dated March 25, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission offered an exemption to investment advisers that are confronting COVID-19-related disruptions with respect to certain filing obligations.
The Order...more
In an Order dated March 25, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission extended the exemptions offered to investment companies, business development companies (BDCs) and investment advisers grappling with challenges to the...more
3/27/2020
/ Annual Reports ,
Business Development Companies ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Exemptions ,
Filing Requirements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Voting Requirements
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 an Order dated March 13, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission offered an exemption to investment advisers that are confronting COVID-19-related disruptions with respect to certain filing obligations....more
In an Order dated March 13, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission offered an exemption to investment companies, business development companies (BDCs) and investment advisers grappling with challenges to the routine...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 September 26, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) adopted a final rule under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Investment Company Act”) that will enable most exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) to...more
11/26/2019
/ Amended Rules ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
ETFs ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Exemptive Orders ,
Final Rules ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Open-Ended Fund Companies (OFCs) ,
Rule 6c-11 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
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)
On June 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) released a long-anticipated interpretation of investment adviser fiduciary duty under Section 206 of the US Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“the Advisers...more
6/28/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Conduct
In what will be a welcome reprieve, the Securities and Exchange Commission eased compliance burdens for most mutual funds, ETFs and closed-end funds to file portfolio holdings reports on Form N-PORT. The SEC pushed back the...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) has proposed rules that would modernize the “fund of funds” rules. The rules would replace a patchwork of exemptive rules and orders, with the goal of a “consistent and...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) has issued its examination priorities for 2019. In it, OCIE points out that its examination program covers some 13,200...more
1/15/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
ETFs ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
MSRB ,
Mutual Funds ,
OCIE ,
Popular ,
Retail Investors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In a new Risk Alert, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) highlighted common compliance issues involving Rule 206(4)-3 under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, otherwise...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations’ long-awaited examination priorities for 2018 will focus on five principal areas: retail investors; infrastructure risks; FINRA and...more
SEC/CFTC Statements -
In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal on January 24, 2018, Jay Clayton, the Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and J. Christopher Giancarlo, the Chair of the US...more
In May 2015, we reported on proposals by the US Securities and Exchange Commission designed to enhance reporting for mutual funds, ETFs and other registered investment companies. On October 13, 2016, the SEC voted to adopt...more
On October 13, 2016, a unanimous US Securities and Exchange Commission adopted far-reaching rules intended to address mutual fund liquidity risks. On the same day and by a divided (two to one) vote, the SEC adopted new mutual...more