The SEC issued a release reopening the comment period on proposed amendments (the “Proposed Amendments”) to Rule 482 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Rule 34b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as...more
The SEC extended until April 28, 2014 the comment periods previously re-opened on its rule proposals regarding asset-backed securities described in the releases entitled “Asset-Backed Securities” (the “2010 Release”) and...more
The SEC staff has made available as a supplement to its June 2013 money market fund reform proposal (discussed in the June 11, 2013 Financial Services Alert) the following analyses of data and academic literature related to...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management granted no-action relief from Section 15(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), that will permit a registered fund (the “Fund”) to enter...more
The SEC has proposed standards for “covered clearing agencies,” which would include registered clearing agencies that (i) have been designated as systemically important by the Financial Stability Oversight Council and for...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued an IM Guidance Update concerning the aggregate advisory fee condition in the SEC’s “multi-manager” exemptive relief. (Under the terms of this relief, a...more
The SEC re-opened the comment periods on its rule proposals regarding asset-backed securities described in the releases entitled “Asset-Backed Securities” (the “2010 Release”) and “Re-Proposal of Shelf Eligibility Conditions...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management granted no-action relief from Section 17(e)(1) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) to permit an affiliated securities lending agent to negotiate...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (the “Staff”) provided additional guidance (the “Guidance”) on the scope of the “knowledgeable employee” category of investors who may be disregarded in determining...more
The staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued a Guidance Update discussing its position that a single proxy proposal to amend an investment company charter must be “unbundled” to provide a separate vote for...more
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) sent a letter to advisers that have not yet been examined by the SEC as part of an initiative to examine a significant percentage of them, with a focus on...more
The SEC settled public administrative proceedings against Navigator Money Management (the “Adviser”), a registered investment adviser, and its principal, Mark A. Grimaldi (the “Principal”), over advertisements in newsletters...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and Department of Labor (“DOL”) reached settlements with Western Asset Management (the “Adviser”), a registered investment adviser and subsidiary of Legg Mason Inc., under...more
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) issued a National Examination Program Risk Alert that summarizes OCIE staff observations on investment adviser due diligence practices with respect to...more
The SEC adopted amendments to the expiration dates of certain interim final rules adopted in July 2011. The interim final rules provide exemptions under the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and...more
On January 9, 2014, FINRA made a filing with the SEC (SR-2014-003) that proposes to amend Rule 5110 to: (1) narrow the scope of the definition of “participation or participating in a public offering;” (2) modify the lock-up...more
The SEC settled public administrative proceedings against a portfolio manager (the “Portfolio Manager”) over misrepresentations he made or caused to be made to prospective and existing investors in the private equity fund of...more
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) announced the 2014 examination priorities (the “Announcement”) for its National Examination Program (the “NEP”). The priorities are organized according to...more
1/30/2014
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Governance ,
Enforcement ,
Fraud ,
General Solicitation ,
Investigations ,
NEP ,
OCIE ,
Retirement ,
Rule 506 Offerings ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
The SEC’s Office of Municipal Securities has released a list of frequently asked questions and answers (the “FAQ”) that presents its views regarding various aspects of the SEC’s municipal advisor registration rules (the...more
The Staff of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued IM Guidance Update 2014-1 which suggests risk management measures and related communications with fund boards that fund advisers may want to consider in view of...more
The SEC has issued a temporary stay of its municipal advisor registration rules (the “Final Rules”). The stay means that the rules, which were to become effective on January 13, 2014, will not apply until July 1, 2014. ...more
The Federal Reserve Board, the OCC, the FDIC, the SEC and the CFTC (collectively, the “Agencies”) adopted an interim final rule (the “Interim Rule”) that provides relief from certain requirements of the Volcker rule for...more
1/15/2014
/ Bank Holding Company Act ,
Banks ,
CFTC ,
Collateralized Debt Obligations ,
Compliance ,
Dodd-Frank ,
FDIC ,
OCC ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trust Preferred Securities ,
Volcker Rule
On December 27, 2013, the SEC adopted final amendments (“Final Amendments”) to remove certain references to ratings by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (“NRSROs”) (e.g., Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s...more
The SEC issued Release No. 34-71194 (the “Adopting Release”) adopting amendments under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) that remove references to credit ratings by ratings agencies (including...more
The SEC settled public administrative proceedings against Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (the “Sponsor”) relating to the structuring and marketing of three collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”) and separately...more