SEC v. Nagler is the second enforcement action charging an investment adviser with undisclosed conflicts of interest since Chair Paul Atkins began his tenure on April 21, 2025. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)...more
On April 12, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission imposed fines and other sanctions on five registered investment advisers (RIAs) for violations of the Investment Adviser Marketing Rule (Rule 206(4)-1), which has...more
On April 3, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its first enforcement action against a registered investment adviser (RIA) with no ties to a broker-dealer regarding so-called “off-channel”...more
4/10/2024
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Electronic Communications ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fund Managers ,
Investigations ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Registered Investment Advisors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Securities Violations
Key Points - On February 13, 2024, FinCEN issued an NPRM that seeks to include certain investment advisers in the definition of “financial institution” under the BSA. As described in the NPRM as well as in FinCEN’s fact...more
2/16/2024
/ AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Bank Secrecy Act ,
Chief Compliance Officers ,
Due Diligence ,
Exempt Reporting Advisers (ERAs) ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investors ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Proposed Rules ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Risk Assessment ,
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs)
Key Points - Last week, the SEC announced settlements with 16 broker-dealers, dually registered broker-dealers and investment advisers, and affiliated investment advisers in connection with their failures to maintain and...more
On October 24, 2023, the Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division, Gurbir S. Grewal, gave a keynote address to the New York City Bar Association’s 2023 Compliance Institute.
This address,...more
Key Points -
Last week, the SEC announced settlements with 10 broker-dealers and affiliated investment advisers in connection with their failures to maintain and preserve electronic “off-channel” communications....more
Investment Advisers: Assessing Risks, Scoping Examinations, and Requesting Documents*
I. Introduction -
The SEC-registered investment adviser (“adviser”) population is large and diverse, ranging from global asset managers...more
9/12/2023
/ Audits ,
Brokerage Accounts ,
Business Operations ,
Compliance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Ethics ,
Financial Records ,
Insider Trading ,
Internal Controls ,
Investment Adviser ,
Marketing ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Management ,
Securities ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Trading Platforms ,
Valuation
On June 8, 2023, the SEC Division of Examinations staff (EXAMS) published a risk alert focused on the new Marketing Rule (Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940). While this new risk alert largely mirrors...more
On Tuesday, February 7, the Division of Examinations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released its 2023 Examination Priorities. Private fund sponsors and managers should pay attention to the Priorities for two...more
Late last year, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler warned private fund managers that they should be prepared for increased regulatory scrutiny. Shortly thereafter, in February 2022, the SEC announced...more
Private funds should be prepared for increased oversight from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), following a landmark year of enforcement cases. In 2021, the Commission brought 159 enforcement actions against...more
2/3/2022
/ Enforcement Actions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Form PF ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Private Equity ,
Private Funds ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Violations
Any doubts over whether the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission considers advisory fees to be a focus area for 2022 were dispelled over the past several weeks. In four separate public statements, the SEC and the Staff of...more
On July 26, 2021, 21 investment advisers entered into settlements with the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve charges that they failed to timely file and deliver their relationship summaries on Form CRS. Penalties...more
On July 21, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations issued a Risk Alert on cross trades and principal transactions.1 The Risk Alert’s guidance and warnings were based on over 20 examinations of...more
In the last three weeks, the Division of Enforcement of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed several complaints and resolved a number of open enforcement actions involving investment advisers. At first...more
- The OCIE of the SEC highlights that responses to COVID-19 present important regulatory and compliance issues for SEC registrants, including “heightened risks of misconduct” tied to recent market volatility.
- The Risk...more
8/21/2020
/ Asset Management ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Business Continuity Plans ,
Business Operations ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Fees ,
Financial Transactions ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Fraud ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
OCIE ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Remote Working ,
Risk Alert ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Supervision
• On May 23, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued a Risk Alert describing its observations in past examinations of weaknesses and best practices...more
5/29/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Cloud Storage ,
Customer Information ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Data Storage Providers ,
Identity Theft ,
Identity Theft Red Flags Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulation S-ID ,
Regulation S-P ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Alert ,
Safeguards Rule ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Vendors
• The SEC released a Risk Alert summarizing key areas in which it continues to see compliance deficiencies related to Regulation S-P, the primary SEC rule regarding privacy notices and safeguard policies of investment...more
4/29/2019
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Customer Information ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Employee Training ,
Incident Response Plans ,
Investment Adviser ,
Notice Requirements ,
OCIE ,
Opt-Outs ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Popular ,
Privacy Policy ,
Regulation S-P ,
Risk Alert ,
Safeguards Rule ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Vendors
• On December 14, the SEC’s OCIE issued a Risk Alert summarizing the findings of its limited-scope examination initiative relating to electronic messaging.
• Noting a “pervasive use” of electronic messaging by adviser...more
12/18/2018
/ Best Practices ,
Books & Records ,
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ,
Cybersecurity ,
Electronic Communications ,
Email Policies ,
Employee Training ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
New Guidance ,
OCIE ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Risk Alert ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Text Messages
• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff made official statements regarding when a token may or may no longer be a security
• The SEC continued to bring actions related to cryptocurrency offerings against...more
9/24/2018
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Commodities ,
Counter-Terrorist ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Customer Due Diligence (CDD) ,
Digital Currency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Exchange-Traded Products ,
FATF ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinTech ,
Income Taxes ,
Initial Coin Offering (ICOs) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
IRS ,
Jurisdiction ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
National Futures Association ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Token Sales ,
Trading Platforms ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Unregistered Securities ,
Virtual Currency ,
Websites