Through a March 12, 2019 letter (Letter), Paul Cellupica, Deputy Director and Chief Counsel of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management, on behalf of the Division’s staff invited industry engagement and sought information...more
3/23/2019
/ Blockchain ,
Comment Period ,
Custody Rule ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Guidance Update ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Non-DVP ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. federal securities laws, the Commodity Exchange Act and regulations thereunder, and certain other applicable federal laws, rules and regulations, as well as rules of U.S. self-regulatory organizations (such as the...more
1/31/2019
/ Commodities Traders ,
Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) ,
Commodity Pool ,
Compliance ,
CPOs ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
NFA ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on December 14, 2018 concerning the use of electronic messaging by registered...more
1/25/2019
/ Books & Records ,
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Commercial Electronic Messages ,
Compliance ,
Data Security ,
Electronic Communications ,
Employee Training ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supervision ,
Third-Party
Next year’s examination priorities of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission were announced on December 20, 2018, and cover six broad, albeit...more
12/22/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Compliance ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Assets ,
Elder Issues ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Market Infrastructure ,
MSRB ,
OCIE ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retail Investors ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In connection with the public roundtable on the proxy voting process (Roundtable) held by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 15, 2018, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (IM...more
12/19/2018
/ Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Governance ,
Due Diligence ,
Glass Lewis ,
Influencers ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
No-Action Letters ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Voting ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Roundtable ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Withdrawal
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on July 11, 2018. The Risk Alert highlights OCIE’s observations of compliance issues...more
8/3/2018
/ Best Execution ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
OCIE ,
Risk Alert ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 18, 2018 published a package of proposed rules and interpretations intended to improve the retail investor experience and to provide greater clarity regarding customers’...more
7/11/2018
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Comment Period ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Due Diligence ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Products ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Care
On April 18, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 4-1 to propose a package of rules and interpretations (Proposals) intended to improve the retail investor experience and to provide greater clarity...more
4/20/2018
/ 401k ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Comment Period ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EDGAR ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Standard of Care
This year’s examination priorities of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were announced on February 6, 2018, and cover five broad, albeit...more
3/9/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Budgets ,
Compliance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Elder Issues ,
ETFs ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Investor Protection ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Advisers ,
Mutual Funds ,
OCIE ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retail Investors ,
Risk Assessment ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. federal securities laws and the rules of U.S. self regulatory organizations (such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) impose certain reporting and compliance obligations on investment advisers and funds....more
1/24/2018
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) ,
Compliance ,
CPO ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Derivatives ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equity Securities ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Form 13F ,
Form ADV ,
Form D Filing ,
Form PF ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Investors ,
NFA ,
Offerings ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Schedule 13D ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Traders ,
Securities Violations ,
Self-Certification ,
Verification Requirements ,
Virtual Currency
The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on September 14, 2017 (Risk Alert). The Risk Alert highlights...more
10/18/2017
/ Advertising ,
Compliance ,
Examination Procedures ,
False Statements ,
Investor Protection ,
Marketing ,
Misleading Impressions ,
OCIE ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The October 1, 2017 compliance date for the amendments to Form ADV and to rule 204-2 (Recordkeeping Rule), as well as technical amendments to other rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act) (collectively,...more
The staff of the Division of Investment Management (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released three related matters of guidance on February 21, 2017, which provide additional clarity to...more
The staff of the Division of Investment Management (Staff) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a Guidance Update (Guidance) on February 23, 2017, on the subject of automated investment advisers...more
3/15/2017
/ Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Division of Investment Management ,
Guidance Update ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Companies ,
Investment Management ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Robo-Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. federal securities laws and the rules of U.S. self-regulatory organizations (such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) impose certain reporting and compliance obligations on investment advisers and funds....more
2/21/2017
/ Accredited Investors ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CFTC ,
Compliance ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equity Securities ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form ADV ,
Form PF ,
Fund Managers ,
Hedge Funds ,
Investment Adviser ,
NFA ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on February 7, 2017 (Risk Alert), highlighting the “five compliance...more
The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 12, 2017 announced its examination priorities for the current year. The priorities extend to nearly...more
Investment advisers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may use a variety of business and organizational models, which may include structures with one or more branch offices. In announcing its...more
The staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated in August that it intends to permit the expiration of rule 206(3)-3T (Rule) under the Investment Adviser Act of 1940 (Advisers Act). The SEC originally...more
The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert on October 24, 2016 (Risk Alert) regarding examinations of...more
10/28/2016
/ Amended Regulation ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Investment Adviser ,
OCIE ,
Risk Alert ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Violations ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
A settled enforcement action, announced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 14, 2016, continues the trend of increased SEC scrutiny of private equity advisers concerning the allocation and...more
10/21/2016
/ Cease and Desist Orders ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Discounts ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fund Expenses ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently adopted amendments to Form ADV and to Rule 204-2 (Recordkeeping Rule), as well as technical amendments to other rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940...more
9/16/2016
/ Chief Compliance Officers ,
Derivatives ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Final Rules ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
RAUM ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Required Forms ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SMAs ,
Social Media ,
Special Purpose Entities ,
Umbrella Registration
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 28, 2016, proposed new Rule 206(4)-4 (Proposed Rule) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act). The Proposed Rule would require every SEC-registered...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a final order (Order) on June 14, 2016, to adjust for inflation the “qualified client” thresholds applicable when a registered investment adviser charges a performance fee in...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 1, 2016 announced a settled enforcement action against a private equity fund manager (Adviser) for acting as a broker-dealer without registering. The case is...more
6/15/2016
/ Acquisitions ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Disgorgement ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Mergers ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Sanctions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Unregistered Brokers