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)
This article focuses on how the new Rule 206(4)-1 (the “Marketing Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) affects the relationships between investment advisers registered with the U.S. Securities...more
10/4/2022
/ Advertising ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Endorsements ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Marketing ,
New Rules ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Funds ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Testimonial Statements
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
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
BrokerCheck is the database through which FINRA publishes licensing, registration, and disciplinary history of brokerage industry firms and their personnel. BrokerCheck does not currently specify whether a particular firm is...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently charged a broker-dealer and five of its registered representatives with violating Regulation Best Interest (“Reg. BI”) related to recommendations and sales of an unrated,...more
It came as no surprise that FINRA’s 2022 Examination and Risk Monitoring Program Report highlighted communications with the public as a continued area of focus. The primary theme across this focus area relates to the...more
On May 4, 2022, FINRA announced that it had fined two FINRA-registered funding portals a combined $1.75 million for failing to comply with securities laws and rules designed to protect crowdfunding investors. Funding portals...more
5/12/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Crowdfunding ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fines ,
Funding Portal ,
Internal Controls ,
JOBS Act ,
Regulation CF ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities Exchange Act
The SEC recently published its 2022 Examination Priorities Letter on the heels of FINRA issuing its 2022 Examination and Risk Monitoring Program Report. One of many areas of common focus is financial management, and more...more
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff recently published a bulletin reiterating the standards of conduct applicable to broker-dealers and investment advisers when making account recommendations to retail investors....more
4/15/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
IRA Rollovers ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Retirement Plan ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Standard of Conduct
The SEC Division of Examinations recently published its list of priorities for 2022. While it was a bit late compared to a typical year, the priorities letter provides a roadmap for firms to better understand where the...more
4/8/2022
/ Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Cryptoassets ,
Emerging Technologies ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form CRS ,
Information Security ,
Investment Adviser ,
Private Funds ,
Regulation BI ,
Regulation SHO ,
SEC Examination Priorities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Unregistered Brokers
The SEC recently proposed rules that would greatly expand the Exchange Act definition of “dealer” and essentially kill the existing dealer/trader distinction long-recognized by the SEC. The likely outcome is that most...more
FINRA recently reminded firms of their obligation to execute marketable customer orders fully and promptly. While this seems fairly routine, what’s notable about the reminder is that “prompt” doesn’t necessarily mean what it...more
This is the first in a series of alerts discussing topics covered by FINRA in its 2022 Examination and Risk Monitoring Program Report (the “Report”). Here we take a look at Regulation Best Interest (“Reg. BI”) and Form CRS,...more
2/25/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Filing Requirements ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Form CRS ,
Investment Adviser ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Training
On February 15, 2022, the SEC announced settlements with 12 broker-dealers and investment advisers for failing to satisfy their Form CRS obligations. These settlements come on the heels of 27 settlements last year for similar...more
FINRA Rules 2165 (Financial Exploitation of Specified Adults) and parts of 4512 (Customer Account Information) became effective on February 5, 2018 and implemented a framework to permit broker-dealers to place a temporary...more
This is the first in a series of alerts in which we will explore the practical reality of the opportunities the metaverse will present for the financial services industry and challenges firms will need to overcome as they...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is implementing a campaign to overhaul the agency’s expectations around cybersecurity and cyber incident reporting for the financial services industry and corporate America...more
2/15/2022
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cyber Incident Reporting ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Collection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Popular ,
Proposed Rules ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-P ,
Regulation SCI ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Service Provider
On February 9, 2022, FINRA published its 2022 Report on its Examination and Risk Monitoring Program, identifying key areas of focus for broker-dealer exams this year. While each exam is unique to the firm under FINRA’s...more
On January 26, 2022, the SEC proposed rule changes that would greatly expand the scope of Regulation ATS, the regulatory regime that governs alternative trading systems (“ATSs”). The proposal focuses on four main...more
On January 26, 2022, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler issued a brief statement noting the agency’s efforts to address the market volatility in January 2021 and beyond. The statement referenced the SEC staff report on volatility and...more
On November 18, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed new Rule 10c-1, which, if adopted, would create a new reporting and disclosure framework for the securities lending market. Rule 10c-1 would require...more
On January 10, 2022, tZERO’s ATS settled a matter with the SEC in which it agreed to an $800,000 fine. Given the size of the penalty and substantial attention on the SEC’s approach to regulating digital asset securities,...more
On November 18, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed amendments to Rules 17a-4 and 18a-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 related to recordkeeping requirements for broker-dealers and...more