PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Raising Capital 101: A Securities Podcast - What are the Different Ways Securities Can Be Offered and Sold? (Part 2)
Imminent Shift: Preparing for the T+1 Settlement Impact on Equity-Based Compensation — The Consumer Finance Podcast
PLI's inSecurities Podcast - The Dangers of Regulation by Enforcement
6 Key Takeaways | Hot Topics in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) and Gamification: Your Questions Answered
Summer Enforcement Action Review; Raising Money in a Pandemic - Investment Management Roundtable Discussion
Main Reason To Be Selling PPLI Now
What a Difference a Day Makes!
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – The annuity regulatory landscape
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Advisers Act regulatory agenda
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Fiduciary investment advice: The patchwork emerges
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – SEC enforcement
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Regulators step up pressure to implement LIBOR transition plans
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Complying with new SEC rules for broker-dealers
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – DOL: What’s ahead
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – SEC’s OCIE exam priorities
Podcast: Credit Funds: Hot Topics in BDC Regulation
Videocast: Form CRS delivery obligations
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series – Account Recommendations Under Regulation BI
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Special Challenges For Dual Registrants
FINRA previously announced in Regulatory Notice 25-04 that it is launching a broad review to modernize its rules regarding member firms and associated persons and identified the modern workplace as its area of initial focus....more
On January 2, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) published an order approving a proposed rule change filed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) to adopt the new FINRA Rule 6500...more
Recently, FINRA accepted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) against a broker providing self-directed, online brokerage services to institutional and retail customers. The broker previously received a $595,000...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) have, in two separate recent settled enforcement actions involving off-channel communications (“OCC”), imposed fine...more
As background, the SEC adopted amendments to Rule 15b9-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (SEA Rule 15b9-1) that require a broker-dealer to become a FINRA member if the broker-dealer effects transactions other than on...more
On October 16, 2023, the Division of Examinations (the “Division”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) published its annual Examination Priorities for 2024 (the “Exam Priorities”). Consistent with the...more
In a series of settlements announced this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) penalized several broker-dealers for allegedly failing to file...more
Editor's Note - The following newsletter provides a roundup summarizing enforcement actions, guidance, rulemakings, and other public statements taken by a federal and/or state financial services regulatory agency,...more
On July 5, 2023, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction that raises a challenge to FINRA’s authority to use FINRA-appointed hearing officers to conduct enforcement proceedings. The injunction enables Alpine...more
2023 MID-YEAR REVIEW - In the first half of 2023, several rule changes have been proposed by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including changes to...more
I. Starting a Broker-Dealer- Becoming an owner of a broker-dealer (BD) is a time-consuming and expensive endeavor. Although the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires BD registration pursuant to the...more
As the private equity (“PE”) and venture capital (“VC”) funds industry grows and matures in Asia, managers are increasingly looking to market interests in their funds to U.S.-based investors. However, many Asia-based managers...more
Regulatory Developments - FinCEN Proposes Form of Report to Collect Beneficial Ownership Information and Application to Obtain FinCEN Identifiers - On January 17, FinCEN proposed a form of report to collect beneficial...more
The SEC recently amended Exchange Act Rule 17a-4 by adopting new recordkeeping requirements for broker-dealers. Most notably, the SEC will no longer require broker-dealers to maintain records in “write once, read many” or...more
As might be expected, FINRA appears to be aligning itself with the SEC in its assertion of jurisdiction over investments that may not, at the end of the day, be deemed securities. ...more
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
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
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
Key Points - - New proposed SEC rules would expand who may be considered a dealer or a government securities dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. - If the proposed new rules are adopted, a large group of...more
The SEC's Division of Enforcement continues to focus on registrants' compliance with Form CRS, a byproduct of the agency's rulemakings "designed to enhance the quality and transparency of retail investors' relationships with...more
While the US Securities and Exchange Commission seeks to modernize electronic recordkeeping requirements in a technology-neutral manner, its proposed amendments are unclear as to the permissible use of the “cloud” or...more
I continue to wade my way through a few months’ worth of cases, press releases, etc., looking for things that manage to catch my attention. I found this SEC settlement from the end of July involving Integral Financial, a BD...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published for comment on September 30 a proposed rule change by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) that would amend FINRA Rule 2231—the customer account...more
In January 2021, the GameStop trading halt exploded across the headlines. Consumer advocates and the financial press pointed fingers at a number of industry players, paying particular attention to the model of “payment for...more
FINRA filed a proposed rule change with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 26, 2021 to delay the effective date of changes to FINRA Rule 4210 that were previously implemented on December 15, 2016. The...more