On May 15, the SEC staff provided guidance to SEC-registered broker-dealers and transfer agents on how they can custody and recordkeep digital assets.
According to the guidance, non-securities are not subject to the...more
In a Legal Alert issued before the SEC open meeting, we posed five questions that our Investment Services team would be looking out for as part of this meeting. We now have answers to some of these questions....more
7/31/2023
/ Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation BI ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Standard of Care ,
Technology
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is holding an open meeting this Wednesday to consider whether to propose new and amended rules under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940...more
Now that the dust has settled on the SEC’s enforcement action against fifteen (15) broker-dealers and an investment adviser for violations of SEC recordkeeping rules applicable to the use of personal devices and off-channel...more
On September 27, 2022, 15 broker-dealers and one investment adviser agreed to pay more than $1.8 billion in total civil penalties to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and, for those same companies or affiliates...more
10/5/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Futures Commission Merchants (FCMs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
New Guidance ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Swap Dealers ,
Swaps ,
Text Messages
The compliance date for two rules adopted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last year, Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) and the Form CRS Relationship Summary (Form CRS) is rapidly approaching for...more
As anticipated, 2020 has seen a number of fiduciary and best interest advice regulations advance at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations face challenges in dealing with rules that impose a...more
4/17/2020
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Securities Regulators
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act). The CARES Act provides emergency financial relief to individuals, businesses and specific industries...more
In this Bottom Line videocast, Dodie Kent and Clifford Kirsch discuss:
The continued emergence of registered index linked annuity products.
The NAIC’s amended Suitability Rule.
The SEC’s variable product summary prospectus...more
3/5/2020
/ Amended Rules ,
Asset Management ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
NAIC ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities Transactions ,
Standard of Conduct
Coming on the heels of the share class initiative, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is at the initial stages of another initiative involving concerns about adviser disclosures and conflicts related to bank...more
11/22/2019
/ Asset Management ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
FDIC ,
Government Securities ,
Liquidity ,
Management Fees ,
Money Market Funds ,
Net Capital Rule ,
OCC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
On October 11, 2019, the leaders of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a...more
11/13/2019
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Bitcoin ,
Broker-Dealer ,
BSA/AML ,
CFTC ,
Digital Assets ,
Ether ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Information Reports ,
Joint Statements ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
[co-presenter: Pooja Kohli, Litigation Specialist]
Firms that are dually-registered are subject to special considerations under the SEC’s new Regulation Best Interest when offering both advisory and brokerage accounts.
In...more
The SEC’s new Regulation Best Interest will require broker-dealers to consider whether their existing investment platforms are designed to result in recommendations to retail customers that are in such customers’ best...more
On September 26, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it has adopted the eagerly awaited new rule 6c-11 (the Rule) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the 1940 Act) that allows most...more
As anticipated, this year has seen a number of fiduciary and best interest investment advice regulations advance at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations will face challenges in dealing with...more
On June 5, 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted its Regulation Best Interest (Rule 15l-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), a rule that requires a broker-dealer registered with the SEC to act...more
Today, in a 3-1 vote, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a comprehensive package of rulemakings and interpretations governing the standard of conduct applicable to broker-dealers providing retail...more
6/10/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Retail Investors ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Transactions ,
Standard of Conduct
Admittedly, it is not one of those “Do you remember where you were when it happened?” moments (for those old enough to remember, think November 16, 1981, when Luke and Laura married), but for the broker-dealer and investment...more
With the recent announcement by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it will hold an open meeting on June 5, 2019, to consider adopting Regulation Best Interest, one of the major issues that the SEC may clarify...more
By all accounts, 2019 will see a number of fiduciary and best interest investment advice regulations advance at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations will face challenges in dealing with rules...more
5/21/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
By all accounts, 2019 will see the advancement of a number of fiduciary and best interest investment advice regulations at both the federal and state levels. Firms subject to these regulations will face challenges in dealing...more
4/2/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Broker-dealers selling annuity products in New York will soon need to comply with new best interest requirements imposed by New York’s amended Insurance Regulation 187. These requirements, which will take effect for annuities...more
On February 3, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Risk Alert prepared by its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) that summarizes the results of a sweep of more than 100 broker-dealers...more
On January 23, 2015, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) released a new white paper outlining the unique and varied challenges broker-dealers face when complying with state unclaimed property...more
Confirming that auditor independence continues to be a regulatory priority, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) issued orders on December 8,...more