The end of 2018 was notable for two SEC enforcement actions against private equity fund managers for violations of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 arising from improper allocations of expenses, undisclosed conflicts of...more
In December 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published its fifth and last risk alert of 2018 on the topic of electronic messaging by personnel of...more
Until November 8, 2018, the enforcement actions of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the digital token (aka cryptocurrency) space have primarily focused on the primary issuances of tokens. However, on...more
SEC FINES BROKER-DEALER FOR EARLY RESALES OF STRUCTURED NOTES -
On June 25, 2018, the SEC announced that a broker-dealer settled charges relating to inappropriate resales of structured notes. The SEC determined that the...more
Many in the blockchain and cryptocurrency community were in a celebratory mood on June 14, 2018, following a landmark speech given by William Hinman, Director for the Division of Corporation Finance of the U.S. Securities and...more
On May 24, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (the “Act”). While much of the Act was designed to provide smaller financial institutions and community...more
BELTWAY -
The Wayback Machine -
Congress passed, and on May 24, 2018, the president signed into law, the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (S.2155). The law makes significant changes to...more
6/8/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Auto Lease ,
Banking Sector ,
BSA/AML ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Economic Growth Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act ,
Fair Lending ,
FDCPA ,
FFIEC ,
FinTech ,
GAO ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
HMDA ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SIFMA ,
TCPA
In a speech on May 2, 2018 regarding the SEC’s recent proposed broker-dealer standard of conduct, Jay Clayton, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), commented as follows on retail investor confusion over...more
In the third release comprising part of the package of proposed rules and forms related to broker-dealers’ and investment advisers’ standards of conduct, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC or the “Commission”)...more
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or “Commission”), its April 18, 2018 release proposing an interpretation of the standard of conduct for investment advisers (“Adviser Conduct Release”) is intended to...more
Background -
For many years, the distinction between investment advisers and broker-dealers was clear: investment advisers were counselors who were expected to provide advice that was in the best interest of their clients,...more
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) this week provided investment advisers with a summary of frequent compliance issues related to advisory fees and expenses that the staff is seeing in their...more
On March 7, 2018, the staff of the Divisions of Enforcement and Trading and Markets of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a public statement regarding exchanges and other secondary trading platforms that list...more