On October 21, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Examinations published its examination priorities for fiscal year 2025.1 In this alert, we offer ten observations for broker-dealers. Our observations...more
10/31/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Cryptoassets ,
ETFs ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form CRS ,
Information Reports ,
Investment Adviser ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulation S-P ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Service Provider
On September 18, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) approved amendments to Regulation NMS (the Amendments) that take several steps intended to narrow bid/ask spreads, reduce transaction costs for...more
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or the Commission) unanimously voted to adopt amendments to Regulation S-P (Reg S-P), which is the SEC’s regulation governing the treatment and safeguarding of...more
6/11/2024
/ Amended Regulation ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Covered Entities ,
Customer Privacy ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Investors ,
Personal Data ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulation S-P ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sensitive Personal Information
On February 6, 2024, by a vote of 3-2 along party lines, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or the Commission) adopted Rules 3a5-4 and 3a44-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act), which...more
2/27/2024
/ Dealers ,
Government Securities ,
Liquidity ,
Market Participants ,
New Rules ,
Registered Investment Companies (RICs) ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Dealers ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Traders
On January 9, 2024, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority published its 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report. Previously titled Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program, the Report is released...more
1/18/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Execution ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptoassets ,
Electronic Communications ,
Equity Securities ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fixed Income Investments ,
Public Communications ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulation SHO ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Retail Investors ,
Retail Sales ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On December 13, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted (4-1) to adopt new requirements under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act), which will restructure the clearance and settlement of...more
1/2/2024
/ Amended Rules ,
CFTC ,
Clearing Agencies ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Hedge Funds ,
New Regulations ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Repurchase Agreements ,
Repurchases ,
Secondary Markets ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Settlement ,
Treasury Markets
On July 26, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) narrowly approved (3-2) a proposed rulemaking under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940...more
8/18/2023
/ Analytics ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Electronic Communications ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investors ,
Predictive Analytics ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or Commission) proposed Regulation Best Execution (Proposed Reg Best Ex), which would establish through Commission rules a federal best execution...more
On December 14, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) released four sweeping rulemaking proposals that would change market structure as we currently know it and introduce a new federal standard...more
On July 27, 2022, the SEC charged three broker dealers for violations of the Identity Theft Red Flags Rule (also known as “Regulation S-ID”), with penalties ranging from $425,000 to $1,200,000. The regulation requires that...more
On March 28, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed new Rules 3a5-4 and 3a44-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) (collectively, the Proposed Rules). The Proposed Rules seek to...more
Firms must demonstrate a “good faith effort” to comply.
Last month, SEC Chairman Clayton issued a public statement communicating that firms should not expect a delay of the June 30, 2020 compliance date for Regulation Best...more
On April 2, SEC Chairman Clayton issued a public statement concerning the SEC’s implementation of Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”) and Form CRS, available here. The bottom line: firms should not expect a delay in the Reg...more
The spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has presented new and unique challenges for the securities industry. The typical “playbook” for disaster relief and business continuity planning never contemplated a world – as we have...more
On June 5, 2019, the SEC adopted a package of rulemakings and interpretations designed to enhance the quality and transparency of investors’ relationships with broker-dealers and investment advisers. The focal point of this...more
9/3/2019
/ Books & Records ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Deadlines ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulation BI ,
Retail Investors ,
Risk Management ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On June 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) in a divided 3-1 vote, approved a package of rulemakings and interpretations designed to enhance the quality and transparency of investors’...more
6/18/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Form ADV ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB) unveiled a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking comment on proposed revisions to the regulations implementing Section 13 of the Bank Holding Company Act,...more
More than ten years after the Global Research Settlement and the adoption of NASD Rule 2711, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) has approve new FINRA rules addressing conflicts of interest for both...more
Overview and Background -
On May 12, 2015, the staff of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA staff) issued an interpretive letter to Hartford Funds Distributors, LLC (Hartford Funds) that conditionally...more