The Mysterious Boundary Beyond Which “Personal” Relationships Jeopardize a Director’s Independence -
In a recent enforcement action, the SEC concluded that the relationship between James Craigie and an officer of Church &...more
2/11/2025
/ Blockchain ,
Board of Directors ,
BSA/AML ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Corporate Governance ,
EFTs ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Investment Contract ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Retirement ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Variable Insurance
Last Lap in SEC RILA Rulemaking Critical Unresolved Issues -
Congress directed the SEC to adopt a new registration statement for registered indexed annuities (RILAs) by the end of June. Several months ago, the SEC...more
5/29/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Climate Change ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
NLRB ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Private Placements ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
On October 13, the SEC adopted a new Securities Exchange Act rule that will require ‘‘institutional investment managers,’’ such as insurance companies, banks, brokers and dealers, investment advisers, and pension funds, that...more
Funds Not Caged by SEC Names Rule Amendments: Roaming Room Remains -
The SEC recently adopted amendments to its investment company “names” rule that apply to most SEC-registered funds, including underlying funds in which...more
1/11/2024
/ Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Life Insurance ,
Proposed Rules ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Traders ,
Whistleblowers
Regulators Hit Jackpot: Off-Channel Communications -
Several years before announcing the first “off-channel” communications enforcement action, the SEC and FINRA cautioned broker-dealers and investment advisers about...more
10/11/2023
/ Annuities ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Breach of Contract ,
Class Action ,
COBRA ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Insurance Products ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Contracts ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Health Insurance ,
Insider Trading ,
Insurance Fraud ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Insurance Regulations ,
Interlocutory Appeals ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
Money Market Funds ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
No-Action Letters ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
NYDFS ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement ,
Robocalling ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
Securities products and social media don’t always mix. Just ask any of the celebrities who in recent years have faced SEC charges for unlawfully touting crypto asset securities. In March, the SEC settled charges against six...more
6/13/2023
/ Advertising ,
Celebrity Endorsements ,
Cryptoassets ,
Endorsements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Influencers ,
Marketing ,
Online Endorsements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Social Media
For broker-dealers distributing and selling variable annuities, examinations will test for compliance with Reg BI and FINRA Rule 2330 because both standards apply to variable annuity sales. Firms distributing and selling...more
On October 26, 2022, the SEC adopted rule and form amendments establishing a new framework for annual and semiannual reports provided by mutual funds and exchange-traded funds that are registered on Form N-1A (funds). The SEC...more
On February 9, 2022, a short-handed SEC voted, 3–1, to propose new rules and amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 “to enhance the regulation of private fund advisers and to protect private fund investors by...more
We are actively looking for circumstances where an adviser is financially conflicted by incentives that could affect investment recommendations to clients. ... And I will tell you: the more we look, the more undisclosed or...more
2/6/2020
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Banks ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Form ADV ,
Investment Adviser ,
Life Insurance ,
Mutual Funds ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Revenue Sharing ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Self-Reporting ,
Share Class Structures ,
Share Classes
In April, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission provided two pieces of guidance concerning the application of the federal securities laws to digital assets. In particular, the SEC’s Strategic Hub for Innovation...more
The SEC has long refused to allow companies to go public with bylaws or other governing documents that would require shareholders to arbitrate federal securities law claims against the company. ...more
Cryptocurrency investors were concerned following the SEC’s July 2017 investigative report on digital token sales by a virtual organization known as “The DAO.” ...more
New York Pushes Mutual Fund Active Share Disclosure -
New York’s Attorney General issued a report on its recent investigation of fees charged by actively managed equity mutual funds and a metric known as “Active Share.”...more
7/23/2018
/ Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Annuities ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Churning ,
Class Action ,
COI Rates ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Data Security ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Insurance Investment Products ,
Investment Companies ,
Life Insurance ,
Lucia v SEC ,
MassMutual ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
Policy Terms ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SLUSA ,
Unclaimed Property
EXPECTFOCUS® is a quarterly review of developments in the insurance and financial services industry, provided on a complimentary basis to clients and friends of Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A.
...more
5/1/2018
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Best Interest Standard ,
CAFA ,
Class Action ,
COI Rates ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Elder Abuse ,
Failure To Pay ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Statute of Limitations ,
TCPA
On February 21, the SEC published interpretive "Guidance" to help public operating companies prepare disclosures about cybersecurity risks and incidents. ...more
In a January 18 letter to two of the fund industry’s leading advocacy groups, the staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management advised fund sponsors not to initiate registration of funds that intend to invest...more
4/11/2018
/ Bitcoin ,
Blockchain ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
ETFs ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Life Insurance ,
Registration Statement ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency
EXPECTFOCUS is a quarterly review of developments in the insurance and financial services industry, provided on a complimentary basis to clients and friends of Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A.
...more
1/18/2018
/ Annuities ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Innovation ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Awards ,
Whistleblowers
As reported in the most recent issue of Expect Focus, the SEC issued an investigative report in July cautioning market participants that distributed ledger (blockchain) technology-based offers and sales of digital "tokens" or...more
1/15/2018
/ Blockchain ,
CFTC ,
Digital Currency ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Markets ,
FinTech ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Insurance Industry ,
LabCFTC ,
Life Insurance ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations ,
Token Sales ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency
EXPECTFOCUS® is a quarterly review of developments in the insurance and financial services industry, provided on a complimentary basis to clients and friends of Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A.
...more
10/20/2017
/ Annuities ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Big Data ,
Blockchain ,
Capital Raising ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Security ,
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ,
Elder Abuse ,
ETFs ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Insurance Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
OCIE ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
STOLI
Many mutual funds implement their investment strategies through "multi-manager" (also called "manager of manager") arrangements, particularly funds used to support variable life insurance and annuity products. Among other...more
10/12/2017
/ Annuities ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fund Managers ,
Insurance Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Life Insurance ,
Mutual Funds ,
OCIE ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
In July, the SEC issued a report addressing the applicability of U.S. federal securities laws to the offer and sale of securities by "virtual corporations or capital raising entities that use distributed ledger or blockchain...more
The SEC recently settled enforcement actions against William Blair and two Calvert companies for using mutual fund assets to pay distribution-related expenses in violation of Investment Company Act Rule 12b-1 and for certain...more
- Should Your Company Purchase Bitcoin to Pay a Cyber Ransom?
- NAIC Draws Line in CFPB Sandbox
- NAIC’s Big Data Task Force Sets Charges for 2017
- Broker-Dealers Can Hold Customers’ Initial Checks...more
1/9/2017
/ Annuities ,
Big Data ,
Bitcoin ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cross-Selling ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Currency ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FinTech ,
Insurance Industry ,
Life Insurance ,
NAIC ,
OCC ,
Prudential Insurance ,
Ransomware ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
STOLI ,
Trump Administration ,
Usury ,
Virtual Currency
- Fed Takes First Steps Toward Setting Capital Requirements for Some Insurers
- New Wave of COI Rate Increase Lawsuits Hits the Industry
- STOLI Policies Cancelled, Insurers Retain Premium
-...more
8/29/2016
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Capital Requirements ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Death Master Files ,
Domain Names ,
Electronic Data Transmissions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Florida ,
Insurance Industry ,
Life Insurance ,
Mutual Funds ,
NAIC ,
National Technical Information Service (NTIS) ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
STOLI ,
Unclaimed Property