On January 6, 2021, the Division of Examinations (“Division”) issued a Risk Alert to notify investment advisers, broker-dealers, and other market participants of a recent action relating to investments in securities...more
1/11/2021
/ American Depository Receipts (ADRs) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
China ,
Divestment ,
Executive Orders ,
Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) ,
Index Funds ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mutual Funds ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Risk Alert
On December 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced it had finalized reforms under the Investment Advisers Act to modernize rules that govern investment adviser advertisements and payments to solicitors....more
On December 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to propose an amendment to Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933 to revise the holding period determination for securities acquired upon the conversion or...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) highlighted alternative data, or “alt data,” as a top examination priority. AIMA held a webinar on November 17, 2020, for...more
12/16/2020
/ AIMA ,
Breach of Contract ,
Compliance ,
Data Mining ,
Due Diligence ,
Employee Training ,
Infringement ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
MNPI ,
OCIE ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Web Scraping
On December 11, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a final rule establishing a regulatory framework for private employee benefit plans’ fiduciaries to follow when they exercise shareholder rights, including...more
On December 3, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission” or “SEC”) announced the adoption of a new rule that establishes an updated regulatory framework for valuation practices of registered investment...more
The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a risk alert on November 19, 2020 related to the Advisers Act compliance rule, Rule 206(4)-7. Some key takeaways for Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) are as...more
On November 19, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to adopt amendments that will modernize, simplify and enhance certain financial disclosure requirements in Regulation S-K. The amendments are intended...more
As the UK approaches a “no deal” exit from the EU, the FCA has issued to the Luxembourg CSSF (and thus to all of us) a reminder that the window of time to access the UK’s temporary regime to market alternative investment...more
On October 15, 2020, the CFTC unanimously adopted amendments to Rule 3.10(c) that will be of assistance to foreign-located persons acting as commodity pool operators on behalf of offshore commodity pools. Rule 3.10(c) will...more
On November 2, 2020, the SEC’s Division of Enforcement issued its 2020 Annual Report for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020. While the Enforcement Division filed 405 standalone enforcement actions – the lowest total in...more
11/12/2020
/ Audits ,
Compensation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Custody Rule ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fund Transfers ,
Insider Trading ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Misallocation of Funds ,
MNPI ,
Past Performance ,
Private Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On October 23, 2020, the SEC Division of Investment Management’s Chief Accountant’s Office (“IMCAO”) issued three separate “Dear CFO” letters addressing (i) the determination of when a fund commences operations, (ii)...more
On November 2, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to amend its rules in order to harmonize, simplify, and improve the multilayered and overly complex exempt offering framework. The SEC believes the...more
On October 28, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (referred to as SEC or Commission) voted to adopt new rules, and rule and form amendments, designed to provide an updated, comprehensive approach to the regulation...more
On October 15, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission” or “SEC”) announced settled charges against Andeavor LLC for internal accounting controls violations relating to a stock buyback plan it implemented...more
For investment advisers, managers/general partners of private funds, registered funds, private funds, and pension funds, among others, you have until October 30 to file Form BE-180, but you must do so electronically. (Yes,...more
SEC Speaks, the annual PLI conference that gives practitioners the chance to hear directly from SEC Staff, was held on October 8 and 9 in a virtual setting. While the conference (like everything else) felt a bit different...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission” or “SEC”) recently instituted settled administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings against a chief compliance officer of a registered investment adviser for record...more
A September 30, 2020 enforcement action brought by the SEC pivoted on a failure to effectively exercise “substantial investment authority”. Day to day investment advisory services were provided by an affiliated RIA of the...more
On October 7, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) adopted a new rule, Rule 12d1-4, and related amendments designed to permit a registered investment company or business development company or...more
On October 7, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) voted to propose a new limited, conditional exemption from the broker registration requirements of Section 15(a) of the Securities Exchange...more
Recent changes to the Volcker Rule, which become effective October 1, 2020, will permit banks and their affiliates (for convenience, “banks”) to sponsor credit funds, whose primary assets are loans and other debt instruments...more
Sender Primary Liability for Misstatements in PPMs and Prospectuses: Lorenzo v. SEC (No. 17-1077 -- U.S. – 2019).
On March 27th, the Supreme Court issued a 1934 Act Rule 10b-5 opinion that will have implications for...more
4/5/2019
/ Corporate Officers ,
Custody Rule ,
Digital Assets ,
Directors ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Intent to Defraud ,
Investment Funds ,
Janus Capital Group Inc v First Derivative Traders ,
Lorenzo v SEC ,
No-Action Relief ,
Personal Liability ,
Proposed Rules ,
Puerto Rico ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rule 10b-5 ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud
March 29th is Brexit Day unless extended. While extension is what the UK Parliament has voted for, the EU approval process and the length of the extension (If any) remains to be seen. Faced with this uncertainty as to when...more
Institutional investors are under significant pressure to maximise returns. To that end they have focused on reducing fees and consolidating their portfolios according to the best ideas of their best managers. A few...more