Imminent Shift: Preparing for the T+1 Settlement Impact on Equity-Based Compensation — The Consumer Finance Podcast
PLI's inSecurities Podcast - The Dangers of Regulation by Enforcement
6 Key Takeaways | Hot Topics in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) and Gamification: Your Questions Answered
Summer Enforcement Action Review; Raising Money in a Pandemic - Investment Management Roundtable Discussion
Main Reason To Be Selling PPLI Now
What a Difference a Day Makes!
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – The annuity regulatory landscape
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Advisers Act regulatory agenda
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Fiduciary investment advice: The patchwork emerges
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – SEC enforcement
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Regulators step up pressure to implement LIBOR transition plans
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Complying with new SEC rules for broker-dealers
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – DOL: What’s ahead
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – SEC’s OCIE exam priorities
Podcast: Credit Funds: Hot Topics in BDC Regulation
Videocast: Form CRS delivery obligations
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series – Account Recommendations Under Regulation BI
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Special Challenges For Dual Registrants
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Account Monitoring Post-Regulation BI
A broker-dealer failed to reasonably supervise its registered representatives when making recommendations of certain variable rate structured products (“VRSPs”), including fixed to floating rate steepeners and other variable...more
Marlin Keith Andrews v. William S. Humber and Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc., FINRA Case #22-01176 - The claimant asserted causes of action including failure to supervise, breach of fiduciary duty, respondeat superior,...more
Federal regulators have cracked down on the use of texts messages and messaging platforms for business communications, using their broad authority to root out record retention violations, resulting in significant fines and...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Sanction Guidelines have been significantly revised, now giving FINRA discretion to impose considerably higher fines on mid- and large-size firms. The revisions, published...more
I attended the four-day SIFMA Compliance and Legal seminar last week, and there were a bunch of interesting soundbites from regulators that folks might find interesting. The challenge at these conferences is always...more
In This Issue. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a sample comment letter on climate change disclosures; the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is conducting a review of brokerage firm...more
Background - On August 30, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sanctioned eight firms in three actions for cybersecurity failures in their policies and procedures that exposed the personal information of...more
There is little doubt that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is making cybersecurity a top priority. SEC Chair Gary Gensler told a Senate committee on Tuesday, September 14, 2021 that the agency is developing a...more
Ninth Circuit Holds Loss Causation May Be Predicated on Information Potentially Available Under Freedom of Information Act; D.C. Circuit Upholds FINRA’s Permanent Ban of Broker Accused of Misconduct After Finding SCOTUS...more
I dare you. In fact, I double-dog dare you to figure out how or why FINRA decides to charge willfulness in some cases but not in others. Bottom line is that it is nearly impossible (except if you’re a big firm, in which case...more
Seems like just days ago I blogged about Jessica Hopper and her commitment to providing restitution to customers. Since I posted that blog, there were two other settlements (which I added to that blog as updates) in which...more
I may have said this before in another post, but in my opinion, whether a baseball umpire is good or bad is not a matter of whether he has a low strikezone, a high strikezone, or a wide one. What matters is that whatever that...more
A proprietary trading firm was sanctioned by a sixth futures-industry regulator for purported spoofing trades by one of three employees many years ago. For the employees’ aggregate alleged misconduct, the firm was first...more
California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law a number of bills that will affect Trust and Estate attorneys, and which are effective as of Jan. 1, 2020. In addition, three new laws make changes to civil discovery...more
The day after Christmas, FINRA issued a press release announcing that five big firms – Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase, LPL, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch – had each entered into a settlement, collectively agreeing to pay a...more
On August 20, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Mosaic Capital, LLC, formerly known as AOC Securities, LLC (“AOC”), and its CEO with failing to adequately supervise an employee who engaged in...more
Justice Brandeis once famously said that sunlight is the best disinfectant. Perhaps, but in FINRA’s purview, settlements might be better. Along these lines, FINRA recently announced that it has reached final settlements in...more
FINRA loves to tout its supposed intent to bring meaningful cases, cases that matter to the investing public, rather than enforcing “foot faults,” as it has been accused of doing over the years. My own experience with FINRA...more
Way back in 2006, NASD issued Notice to Members 06-55, which tweaked the Sanction Guidelines to allow not just the size of the firm to be taken into consideration when determining the appropriate sanctions to be meted out,...more
On May 16, 2018, the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced it had settled charges against a registered broker-dealer, its clearing firm, and its chief compliance and anti-money laundering (“AML”) officer brought...more
On April 10, 2017, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) National Adjudicatory Council (NAC) introduced new Sanction Guidelines (Guidelines) which allow the NAC and FINRA staff to take into consideration the...more
In April 2017, FINRA announced that it had revised its sanction guidelines for violations of its rules. The new revisions, among other things...more
Making Regulation Great Again: President Trump Requires Loss of Two Regulations for Every New One and Orders Review of All Financial Services Laws and Rules: Last week, through the issuance of two executive orders, President...more
Halfway through 2016, the international community has seen a staggering variety of cross-border investigations and enforcement actions. Brexit, the release of the Panama Papers, allegations of widespread sports doping and the...more
We previously warned that some individuals involved with arranging EB-5 investments may be required to register as broker-dealers (see "Immigrant Investor Program Raises SEC Broker Registration Issues" in the Summer 2014...more