Compliance Tip of the Day: COSO Objective 5 – Monitoring Activities
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Raising Capital 101: A Securities Podcast - What Laws Affect Securities Offerings?
Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) and Gamification: Your Questions Answered
Summer Enforcement Action Review; Raising Money in a Pandemic - Investment Management Roundtable Discussion
Investment Management and Private Funds Roundtable – June 2020
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – FinTech initiatives
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 – Complying with new SEC rules for broker-dealers
Investment Management Roundtable Discussion – Regulatory and Enforcement Update
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Establishing An Investment Platform Post-Regulation BI
Investment Management Update - Focus on Data Privacy and Cybersecurity
One of the most talked about topics in asset management is the possibility of offering Mutual Fund and ETF Classes in the same Fund. It appears that Funds may obtain the Relief necessary to offer these Share Classes in the...more
On June 30, 2022, the SEC filed a settled action against Hamilton Investment Counsel, LLC (the “Firm”) and its chief compliance officer (“HIC CCO”). Notably, the SEC charged the HIC CCO with willfully aiding and abetting the...more
Many compliance officers believe they have targets on their backs. Indeed, according to industry-wide surveys conducted by the National Society of Compliance Professional (NSCP), 72% of compliance professionals are concerned...more
About a month ago, the SEC announced a settlement in a modest little case that has, nevertheless, managed to garner a lot of attention. This is a result of the fact that one of the respondents was the CCO, i.e., the Chief...more
Last week, yet another US Department of Justice (DOJ) official reportedly stated new corporate settlements “most likely” will include a requirement that the company’s chief compliance officer (CCO), as well as the chief...more
On March 17, 2022, FINRA issued Regulatory Notice 22-10 (“Notice”), which reminds FINRA member firms and their associated persons of the scope of supervisory liability for Chief Compliance Officers (“CCO”). The Notice...more
As a fitting cap to a busy month, on March 30, the SEC Division of Examinations announced its 2022 Examination Priorities. These priorities are consistent with the recent activities of the SEC more generally, as exemplified...more
Guidance clarifies assessment of liability under Rule 3110, including designation as supervisor, application of reasonableness standard, and factors for and against charging compliance officials. On March 17, 2022, the...more
I attended the four-day SIFMA Compliance and Legal seminar last week, and there were a bunch of interesting soundbites from regulators that folks might find interesting. The challenge at these conferences is always...more
The lack of specific guidance regarding failure to supervise liability for chief compliance officers (“CCOs”) has been a controversial and opaque topic that both FINRA and the SEC have struggled with for well over a decade....more
On March 17, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a notice, clarifying when chief compliance officers (CCOs) will face liability as supervisors under FINRA Rule 3110. Under Rule 3110, member firms are...more
On March 17, 2022, FINRA issued a notice to member firms about Rule 3110 as it pertains to the potential liability of Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) for failure to discharge designated supervisory responsibilities. ...more
In the securities industry, regulators like to say that the compliance professionals are their “partners.” But every so often, those regulators charge one of their compliance partners with rule violations. The compliance...more
In recent years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has increasingly brought enforcement actions against chief compliance officers (“CCOs”) in their personal capacities. On June 2, 2021, the New York City Bar...more
Over the past 15 years, chief compliance officers (“CCOs”) for financial services firms have come under increased scrutiny as the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority...more
For the past decade, anti-money laundering (“AML”) has been at the forefront of securities regulators’ priorities. Indeed, AML enforcement cases have resulted in some of the highest fines imposed by securities regulators,...more
When you think about it, puns are kind of like securities enforcement actions. They could make you groan; they could make you laugh (if the conduct is particularly goofy) (or if you don’t like the respondent); or they often...more
Many of us watched Friends when it was originally broadcast using our rabbit ear antennas or through basic cable. Others watched it on reruns. While, more recently, some of us (or our children) watched on Netflix or, even...more
Summaries of recent legislative and regulatory developments with respect to: •The SEC’s Examination Priorities for 2021- •The SEC’s Focus on Digital Asset Securities- •The SEC’s New Marketing Rule... ...more
A long time ago, long before there existed any whistleblower statutes, I had a client – a CCO of a broker-dealer – who discovered some pretty funky trading at his firm. As he tells the story, when he went to see his boss (who...more
Join Heidi E. VonderHeide as she discusses how Regulation Best Interest is being implemented, examines post-effective date guidance and activity by the regulators, and shares what to expect during 2021 exams. Heidi will also...more
We have frequently blogged here about the degree of attention that regulators pay to Chief Compliance Officers, and whether it is proper that they sometimes are named individually in Enforcement actions. And we are hardly...more
Recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) charged a dually registered firm and its Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) with multiple violations of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”). The...more
As the world responds to COVID-19, we have identified a number of compliance and legal considerations for asset managers. We summarize a select list of these in our note below....more
Last week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission publicized a cascade of settlements of enforcement actions alleging breaches of laws and rules related to supervision, spoofing, reporting, and misappropriation of...more