The SEC currently has several notable rule proposals that have received public comment but have not yet been finalized. The potential direction of these proposals is likely to be influenced by the leadership of the new SEC...more
2/10/2025
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Capital Markets ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Custody Rule ,
Digital Assets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Shareholder Proposals
On January 28, 2025, FINRA published its 2025 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report (the “Report”) as “an up-to-date, evolving resource or library of information for firms” that highlights specific industry trends, new...more
FINRA’s Office of Financial Innovation published a report on “The Metaverse and the Implications for the Securities Industry” to raise awareness among its member firms and the broader securities industry and seek industry...more
10/28/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fraud ,
Information Reports ,
Market Participants ,
Metaverse ,
NASAA ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Popular ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Securities Regulators ,
Virtual Reality
On April 30, 2024, FINRA proposed amendments its Maintaining Qualifications Program (“MQP”) to reopen the period in which certain participants can complete their prescribed 2022 and 2023 continuing education (“CE”)...more
This amendment builds on FINRA’s recent willingness to relax the prohibition on the use of projections and targeted returns in the marketing materials broker-dealers deliver to institutional investors and qualified...more
2/29/2024
/ Affiliates ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Comment Period ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Institutional Investors ,
Internal Rate of Return (IRR) ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Investment Funds ,
Offering Statements ,
Past Performance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Offerings ,
Private Placements ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
On January 23, 2024, FINRA announced the addition of new Supplementary Material .18 to FINRA Rule 3110 (Supervision) to adopt a voluntary, three-year remote inspections pilot program (Pilot Program) to allow eligible members...more
Firms will be able to treat private residences from which certain supervisory activity is conducted as non-branch offices instead of OSJs. The adoption comes after nearly two years of FINRA efforts to align its supervisory...more
High-frequency traders, private funds, decentralized exchange automated market makers, and even state pension plans should consider whether the expanded dealer definition triggers the need to register as a securities dealer...more
2/12/2024
/ Cryptoassets ,
Dealers ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Government Securities ,
Liquidity ,
Market Participants ,
Municipal Bonds ,
New Rules ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Registration Requirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Traders
In January 2024, FINRA provided an update on its targeted examination of firms’ crypto asset communications. FINRA launched this targeted examination series in November 2022 to “review the practices of certain member firms...more
On January 9, 2024, FINRA published its 2024 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report (the “Report”). FINRA publishes the Report as a way to provide its broker-dealer members with insight into findings from FINRA’s Member...more
1/26/2024
/ Annual Reports ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Cryptoassets ,
Cybersecurity ,
Electronic Communications ,
Financial Crimes ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form CRS ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulation SHO ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
FINRA has offered a gift to member firms and fund managers just in time for the holiday season — but like a new puppy, the gift comes with a lot of responsibility. FINRA filed a proposed rule change to amend FINRA Rule 2210...more
The SEC is continuing its campaign to overhaul cybersecurity, cyber incident reporting, and privacy controls and requirements for financial services industry registrants, their service providers, and corporate America...more
In April 2023, the SEC re-proposed amendments to Exchange Act Rule 3b-16 to expand the definition of what it means to be an exchange. When the SEC initially proposed these amendments in January 2022, there were zero direct...more
10/12/2023
/ Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Blockchain ,
Comment Period ,
Compliance ,
Compliance Dates ,
Crypto Exchanges ,
Cryptoassets ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Contract ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
Securities Regulation
In Regulatory Notice 23-09, FINRA provides an update on actions it currently has under way to promote capital formation and the capital-raising process. FINRA also requests comment regarding whether there are other changes to...more
The SEC continues its overhaul of cybersecurity, cyber incident reporting, and privacy controls and requirements for industry registrants, their services providers, and corporate America generally.
On March 15, 2023, the SEC...more
4/14/2023
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Covered Entities ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Disposal Protocols ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Mutual Funds ,
Personal Information ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Rules ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Regulation S-P ,
Safeguards Rule ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sensitive Personal Information
Interest in engaging in a crypto business seems to be at an all-time high, including doing so in or through regulated and compliant businesses in traditional financial services firms. Brokers-dealers sit atop that list....more
FINRA recently announced targeted exams of its members focused on certain retail communications concerning “crypto asset” products and services between July 1, 2022 and September 30, 2022. For purposes of the exams, FINRA...more
FINRA recently published Regulatory Notice 22-23, providing guidance regarding firm and representative succession planning, including relevant FINRA rules and administrative processes and questions firms can consider when...more
FINRA recently highlighted Rule 3241 in the 2023 Regulatory Element Learning Plan. Rule 3241 became effective in early February 2021 and prohibits a registered person from being named as a beneficiary, executor, or...more
FINRA recently hosted a conference call with its smaller members covering Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS compliance. FINRA’s resounding message was that there is “no one-size-fits all” approach to Reg. BI...more
10/13/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulation BI ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
SEC staff recently served up a juicy staff bulletin covering the standards of conduct for broker-dealer and investment adviser conflicts of interest. The staff bulletin includes 13 Q&As categorized into five different...more
FINRA recently proposed amendments to FINRA Rule 3110 (Supervision) to adopt a voluntary, three-year pilot program (Pilot Program) to allow member firms to conduct remote branch office inspections. In a nod to where...more
8/17/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Data Collection ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Inspections ,
Pilot Programs ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Public Comment ,
Remote Proceedings ,
Risk Assessment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supervision
Are the SEC and FINRA setting up shop in the metaverse? Not quite yet, but we stress yet! Like private sector businesses, U.S. financial services regulators are increasingly exploring what the metaverse, augmented...more
8/4/2022
/ Augmented Reality ,
Business Strategies ,
Compliance ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Metaverse ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Remote Banking ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Reality
Back in April 2022, we wrote about the SEC killing the Dealer/Trader distinction. We also noted then that it would come as no surprise to see the SEC re-propose amendments to Exchange Act Rule 15b9-1. Just a few months later,...more
In March 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed rules that would greatly expand the Exchange Act definition of “dealer” and essentially kill the distinction between dealers and traders long-recognized by...more
7/15/2022
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Executive Orders ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Joe Biden ,
Market Participants ,
Proprietary Trading ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Dealers ,
Securities Exchange Act