The Nutter Securities Enforcement Update is a periodic update of noteworthy recent securities enforcement activity, settlements, decisions, and charges. We provide brief summaries that highlight recent enforcement action...more
Who may be interested: Registered Investment Companies, Investment Advisers, Broker-Dealers - Quick Take: The SEC settled charges against a firm and the former head of the firm’s equity syndicate desk, arising out of a...more
On January 8, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a jury’s verdict in a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) enforcement action against EOX Holdings, L.L.C. (“EOX”) and its employee, Andrew...more
New DOL Rule Enables Consideration of ESG Factors in Investing, Plus the SEC Continues its ESG Enforcement Push in the Absence of Final SEC Rules - On November 22, the US Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule...more
On August 9, 2022, in CFTC v. EOX Holdings LLC, the first insider trading trial in a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) enforcement action, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas found...more
COVID-19 fallout continued to dominate the financial services industry during the past few weeks, prompting ongoing adherence to business continuity and other contingency plans by market participants and new relief by...more
Last week, a senior official of the Securities and Exchange Commission said that Bitcoin and Ether are not securities and that there might be circumstances when a utility token is also not a security. The same official and...more
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) on December 1, 2017 self-certified contracts for bitcoin futures products with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Additionally, on...more
FCM Agrees to Pay US $2.5 Million CFTC Fine for Relying on Affiliate’s Purportedly Misleading Analysis of Block Trades for a CME Group Investigation: Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated agreed to pay a fine of...more
ICE Futures U.S. Settles Disciplinary Actions Against Three Respondents For Alleged Block Trade Violations For US $325,000 Combined Fine - ICE Futures U.S. settled two related disciplinary actions against three persons for...more
January 2017 - The last several years have seen law enforcement and regulatory bodies sharpen their focus on trading activity in the securities and derivatives markets. This focus has coincided with the advent of new and...more
Federal District Court Approves Flash Crash Spoofer’s US $38 Million Settlement; Federal Appeals Court Appears Sympathetic to Michael Coscia’s Claim That Spoofing Prohibition Is Too Vague - The US federal court handling...more
BREXIT UPDATE - Nathaniel Lalone, a Financial Services partner at Katten Muchin Rosenman UK LLP, will continue to share his insight into the evolution of the relationship between the United Kingdom and European Union in...more
CFTC Says Virtual Currencies Are a “Commodity” Under Federal Law, Files Charges Against Coinflip for Operating an Unregistered Bitcoin Options Trading Platform - The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed and...more
Charles Schwab Fined US $2 Million by FINRA for Net Capital Deficiencies: Charles Schwab & Co. agreed to pay US $2 million to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to resolve allegations that it had net capital...more
CME Group Files Disciplinary Actions for Trading Ahead of Block Trades and Failure to Supervise an Employee Engaging in Disruptive Trading Activities - In two cases of first impression, CME Group exchanges brought and...more
CME Group Reminds Members of Regulatory Requirements for EFRPs and Block Trades Through Disciplinary Actions: The CME Group brought and resolved multiple disciplinary actions against various members and non-members related to...more
In this issue: - SEC Releases Strategic Plan for 2014–2018 - House Passes Bill H.R. 5405 “Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act” - FINRA Board Approves Several Rulemaking Items...more
CFTC Proposes Margin Rules for Uncleared Swaps and Approves Special Treatment for Operations-Related Swaps With Certain Government-Owned Natural Gas and Electric Utilities - A few weeks after the Federal Reserve Bank...more
Several weeks ago I discussed what I think is the great likelihood that investment advisers are about to be subject to more regular periodic exams in the coming years....more