This monthly bulletin is designed to help companies identify important legal developments governing the use and acceptance of blockchain technology, smart contracts, and digital assets....more
Introduction - On 6 February 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 to adopt two new rules that significantly expand the definitions of a “dealer” and “government securities dealer” in Sections...more
Who may be interested: Investment Advisers, Registered Investment Companies - The SEC approved the creation and listing of eleven spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 10th. Several firms received approval to launch funds,...more
Revamped SFC and HKMA guidance applies to intermediaries that distribute products or provide dealing, advisory, and asset management services related to virtual assets. On 20 October 2023, the Hong Kong Monetary...more
Investment Advisers: Assessing Risks, Scoping Examinations, and Requesting Documents* I. Introduction - The SEC-registered investment adviser (“adviser”) population is large and diverse, ranging from global asset managers...more
On March 9, 2023, the New York State Attorney General’s Office (NYAG) filed a lawsuit charging crypto trading platform KuCoin for “failing to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer and falsely representing...more
Advertisers, beware. On January 13, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission announced that as a result of a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit, investment advice company WealthPress has agreed to a proposed court order that...more
On Wednesday, December 14, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) affirmatively voted to advance some major changes to U.S. stock-market rules, perhaps the biggest changes to such rules in nearly 20 years....more
Die Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht („BaFin“) hat am 21. November 2022 in einer Mitteilung klargestellt, dass Wertpapierdienstleistungsunternehmen in Trading Apps oder Tradingportalen keine Dark Patterns...more
In July 2017, the SEC issued its landmark DAO Report, which clarified, among other things, its view that digital tokens with characteristics akin to those of an "investment contract" as established in SEC v. W.J. Howey Co....more
Chairman Gensler Addresses Key Elements of his Agenda - Yesterday, SEC Chairman Gensler addressed key elements of his agenda in a speech before the SEC’s Investment Advisory Committee, which subsequently approved two...more
SEC Adopts ETF Rule - On September 25, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unanimously adopted Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act to modernize the regulation of exchange-traded funds by establishing a clear and...more
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff made official statements regarding when a token may or may no longer be a security • The SEC continued to bring actions related to cryptocurrency offerings against...more
SEC Proposes to Enhance Protections and Preserve Choice for Retail Investors in Their Relationships with Investment Professionals - On April 18, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to propose a package of...more
Increasingly, states are enacting cybersecurity regulations for financial institutions and investment advisors. Following New York’s groundbreaking regulation, Colorado recently proposed changes to its state...more
RBS has agreed to pay $85 million to the CFTC to resolve allegations that its traders “manipulated the ISDAfix benchmark rate over a period of five years to benefit the bank’s derivatives positions”....more
On November 17, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published its final notice addressed to Mothahir Miah, a former investment analyst at a large UK institutional asset manager, fining him £139,000 and banning him from...more
"Wherefore Art Thou Due Process?" Part III - Why it matters: It is time for another installment in our continuing "Wherefore Art Thou Due Process?" coverage into the ongoing constitutional challenges to the SEC's...more
The SEC published a report that provides private fund industry statistics and trends, reflecting aggregated data reported by private fund advisers on Form ADV and Form PF. Most of the data in the more than 50 separate tables...more
Below is a summary of recent investment management developments that affect registered investment companies, private equity funds, hedge funds, investment advisers, and others in the investment management industry. Schwab...more
The SEC recently published two rule proposals to address concerns over the Commission’s ability to gauge and monitor any risks that the asset management industry poses to the financial system and investors. This includes the...more
On September 15, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a National Exam Program Risk Alert (2015 Risk Alert) to provide broker-dealers and investment...more