Gone With the Wind?
Closed-End Funds Risk Extinction -
Shares of SEC-registered closed-end funds (CEFs) have long held significant potential advantages for some investors. For example, unlike shares of mutual funds...more
10/16/2024
/ Cybersecurity ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Social Media
Last Lap in SEC RILA Rulemaking Critical Unresolved Issues -
Congress directed the SEC to adopt a new registration statement for registered indexed annuities (RILAs) by the end of June. Several months ago, the SEC...more
5/29/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
NLRB ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Funds Not Caged by SEC Names Rule Amendments: Roaming Room Remains -
The SEC recently adopted amendments to its investment company “names” rule that apply to most SEC-registered funds, including underlying funds in which...more
1/11/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Life Insurance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Traders ,
Whistleblowers
Regulators Hit Jackpot: Off-Channel Communications -
Several years before announcing the first “off-channel” communications enforcement action, the SEC and FINRA cautioned broker-dealers and investment advisers about...more
10/11/2023
/ Annuities ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Breach of Contract ,
Class Action ,
COBRA ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Contracts ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Health Insurance ,
Insider Trading ,
Insurance Fraud ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
Money Market Funds ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
No-Action Letters ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
NYDFS ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement ,
Robocalling ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
For broker-dealers distributing and selling variable annuities, examinations will test for compliance with Reg BI and FINRA Rule 2330 because both standards apply to variable annuity sales. Firms distributing and selling...more
More than 25 years have elapsed since the SEC adopted Exchange Act Rule 17a-4(f) governing electronic recordkeeping by broker-dealers. In an effort to update the rule to reflect “technology neutral” concepts, the SEC adopted...more
At least two insurance companies are adding “buffered” investment portfolios to the lineup of underlying funds that are available to support their variable annuity and variable life insurance policies....more
SEC Divided on Securities Law Exemptions -
SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce in October published an explanation of her dissent from an SEC enforcement action concerning certain collective investment vehicles established by a...more
SEC Replaces Rather than Revises -
In late October, the SEC approved a wholesale replacement for the patchwork of interpretive and no-action positions it had developed over more than 40 years to regulate fund use of...more
Implementing all the reforms adopted by the SEC in connection with its variable insurance product summary prospectus rule (Rule 498A) is potentially a major undertaking, depending on the number and nature of an insurer’s...more
Legislation proposed as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive budget for 2021 would substantially expand the enforcement powers of the superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, as well as the...more
As spring begins, and after many years of fertilizing and watering by industry representatives, the SEC has adopted comprehensive reforms to its disclosure requirements for variable annuities (VAs) and variable life insurance...more
Insurance and Investment Firms Breathe Easier -
On December 4, 2019, the Financial Stability Oversight Council adopted final interpretive guidance on addressing systemic threats to the financial system that prioritizes the...more
2/12/2020
/ Consumer Insurance Products ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FSOC ,
Interpretive Rule ,
Life Insurance ,
Mutual Funds ,
Mutual Insurance Companies ,
Regulatory Burden ,
SIFIs ,
Too Big to Fail
A risk alert issued on November 7, 2019, by the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations underscores a continuing dilemma faced by SEC-regulated entities....more
2/10/2020
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Corporate Governance ,
Insurance Investment Products ,
Investment Adviser ,
Life Insurance ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Alert ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The Supreme Court’s June decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media has made it easier for federal entities to resist certain Freedom of Information Act requests for confidential business information that the...more
On June 5, 2019, the SEC adopted a four-part regulatory package that includes: new Regulation Best Interest (Reg. BI), the related “Relationship Summary” disclosure form (Form CRS), and two interpretations of the Advisers...more
7/12/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Transactions ,
Standard of Conduct
In Release No. 33-10618 (Mar. 20, 2019), the SEC adopted amendments (the “Amendments”) that consolidate, conform, and otherwise refine numerous requirements applicable to filings with the agency. ...more
4/9/2019
/ Consumer Insurance Products ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Life Insurance ,
Mutual Funds ,
New Amendments ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Variable Annuities
As index universal life (IUL) and index annuity product innovation sprints ahead, regulators, running to catch up, are considering whether changes are needed to the NAIC’s Actuarial Guideline 49 and to its Annuity Disclosure...more
Like most ETFs, the buffer ETFs are registered with the SEC on Form N-1A as “open-end” investment companies, and they issue and redeem their shares at net asset value (NAV) only as part of large blocks, known as “creation...more
Rule amendments proposed in October by the SEC could impact insurers whose obligations under certain types of annuity contracts have been guaranteed by the insurers’ affiliates....more
FINRA’s reported enforcement actions as to certain variable annuity practices increased in 2018. For example, FINRA announced more than half a dozen settlements – via Letters of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWCs) – for...more
Marketing Private Life Insurance Separate Accounts to Smaller Banks -
Subject to certain exceptions, the so-called “Volcker rule” provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act and regulations thereunder (collectively, the Volcker Rule)...more
10/4/2018
/ BOLI ,
Covered Funds ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Investment Products ,
Investment ,
Life Insurance ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
SIFIs ,
Threshold Requirements ,
Volcker Rule
New York Pushes Mutual Fund Active Share Disclosure -
New York’s Attorney General issued a report on its recent investigation of fees charged by actively managed equity mutual funds and a metric known as “Active Share.”...more
7/23/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Annuities ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Churning ,
Class Action ,
COI Rates ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Data Security ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Investment Products ,
Investment Companies ,
Life Insurance ,
Lucia v SEC ,
MassMutual ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
Policy Terms ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SLUSA ,
Unclaimed Property
On April 18, the SEC voted to propose major rule changes to reconcile and clarify the standards of conduct that apply to broker-dealers and investment advisers. ...more
7/5/2018
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Churning ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Products ,
Life Insurance ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
EXPECTFOCUS® is a quarterly review of developments in the insurance and financial services industry, provided on a complimentary basis to clients and friends of Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A.
...more
5/1/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Best Interest Standard ,
CAFA ,
Class Action ,
COI Rates ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Elder Abuse ,
Failure To Pay ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statute of Limitations ,
TCPA