On January 26, 2022, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to Form PF, the confidential reporting form for certain SEC-registered investment advisers to private funds (the Proposal). The Proposal...more
In a troubling development, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has announced its expectation that it will proceed to propose yet another iteration of investment advice guidance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more
On October 7, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed granting exemptive relief from the broker registration requirement in Section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange...more
In recent years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sought to address controversy regarding the proxy voting system and the influence of proxy advisory firms such as Glass, Lewis & Co. and Institutional...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 13, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a temporary order (the Order) providing conditional exemptive relief to investment advisers registered with the SEC (RIAs) and exempt reporting advisers...more
In this Bottom Line videocast, Issa Hanna and Pooja Kohli discuss what to expect in 2020 on standard of conduct developments for broker-dealers and investment advisers, including:
Anticipated developments relating to the...more
2/20/2020
/ Asset Management ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Duty of Care ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Investment Management ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation
Form ADV update season is now upon us, and as many investment advisers work toward the quickly approaching filing deadline, they will also have to grapple with a regulatory environment that is putting even more pressure on...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 August 21, 2019, in a 3-2 vote, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted in favor of publishing guidance (guidance) regarding the proxy voting responsibilities of investment advisers (IAs). The guidance,...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
What happened?
On June 5, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted Regulation Best Interest (Reg. BI), a new rule establishing a “best interest” standard of conduct for broker dealers and their natural...more
7/15/2019
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Duty of Care ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
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
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)
On April 29, 2019, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit comment on whether it should issue a formal proposal to expand the reach of its...more
5/17/2019
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Banks ,
Custody ,
de facto Administrators ,
Executors ,
Federal Savings Associations ,
Fiduciary ,
OCC ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Risk Management ,
Trustees
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 12, 2018, the Division of Enforcement of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (Initiative) to encourage SEC registered investment advisers...more
On July 13, 2017, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) held a Blockchain Symposium (the Symposium) in which representatives from a number of US regulators discussed the work they have undertaken to assess...more
On August 25, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) adopted amendments to Form ADV Part 1 that will require SEC-registered investment advisers to provide a significant amount of new information. The SEC adopted...more
Under current Florida insurance laws, branch offices of broker-dealers selling insurance products in Florida are required to either “license” or “register” as agency branches (in addition to satisfying insurance producer...more
On January 28, 2014, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a Risk Alert entitled: Investment Adviser Due Diligence Processes for Selecting...more
During an open meeting of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on July 10, 2013, the SEC adopted a rule that lifts the ban on general solicitation of unregistered securities offerings and paves the way for...more