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
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – DOL: What’s ahead
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series – Account Recommendations Under Regulation BI
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Special Challenges For Dual Registrants
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Account Monitoring Post-Regulation BI
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Regulation BI Recordkeeping Requirements
Regulation Best Interest Videocast Series: Establishing An Investment Platform Post-Regulation BI
On August 11, 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) brought two settled administrative proceedings against a broker-dealer and one of its registered representatives for violations of Regulation Best Interest...more
2025 is here, and so is FINRA’s 2025 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report (Report). On January 28, 2025, FINRA published the Report, which provides firms with insight into FINRA’s findings from recent observations and...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA’s) 2025 Annual Regulatory Oversight Report provides member firms with key insights and observations from its regulatory operations programs. The report covers fixtures such...more
Among other things, FINRA is focusing on services and recommendations by broker-dealers and their registered representatives to retirees, senior investors and investors with diminished capacity. The Report has one part...more
On January 13, FINRA accepted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (AWC) from a financial services member firm to address allegations of supervisory failures related to recommendations of alternative investments. ...more
It has been nearly five years since the US Securities and Exchange Commission (‘SEC’ or ‘the Commission’) adopted Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) to enhance the standard of conduct applicable to broker-dealers when they...more
Who may be interested: Registered Investment Companies; Registered Investment Advisers; Broker Dealers; Compliance Officers; Boards of Directors - Quick Take: The SEC recently settled five separate enforcement proceedings...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations recently released its 2025 priorities. These identify several new or emerging areas of focus that could be precursors to enforcement actions, such as the use...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of Examinations released its annual report of examination priorities on October 21, 2024 (the Exam Priorities). The annual Exam Priorities report, which is designed...more
Last week, on October 21, 2024, the SEC’s Division of Examinations released its Examination Priorities report for fiscal year 2025 (found here). As we have seen with past annual reports, the Division intends to cover a broad...more
A broker-dealer failed to reasonably supervise its registered representatives when making recommendations of certain variable rate structured products (“VRSPs”), including fixed to floating rate steepeners and other variable...more
In this issue of our monthly Securities Enforcement Roundup, we highlight top securities enforcement developments and cases from September 2024. In September 2024 (the last month of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s...more
The stay of the effective dates of the amended fiduciary regulation and amended exemptions means that the “old” DOL fiduciary regulation (the 5-part test) and the existing exemptions continue in effect indefinitely....more
A broker-dealer (the “Dealer”) entered into a cease-and-desist order with the Securities and Exchange Commission for failing to maintain and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed to achieve compliance...more
The stay of the effective dates of the amended fiduciary regulation and amended exemptions means that the “old” DOL fiduciary regulation (the 5-part test) and the existing exemptions continue in effect indefinitely. As a...more
The DOL’s fiduciary regulation was scheduled to become effective this September 23. The exemptions were scheduled to become partially effective this September 23 and fully effective September 23, 2025....more
On July 19, FINRA accepted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver, and Consent (AWC) from a member firm to resolve alleged Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) violations. According to the AWC, from June 2020 to March 2023, the member...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Investor Advocate recently issued its fiscal year 2025 Report on Objectives. The Report is one of two annual reports required to be filed by the Investor Advocate with...more
This article was originally published on Kitces.com, on May 15, 2024, and is available at at DoL’s Retirement Security Rule & PTE 2020-02 Amendment: What Advisers Need to Know Now about Giving Rollover Advice After September...more
On April 25, 2024, the Department of Labor published its final regulation defining fiduciary status for investment advice and the related exemptions—PTE 2020-02 and 84-24. The exemptions provide relief from prohibited...more
This amendment builds on FINRA’s recent willingness to relax the prohibition on the use of projections and targeted returns in the marketing materials broker-dealers deliver to institutional investors and qualified...more
On January 9, 2024, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority published its 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report. Previously titled Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program, the Report is released...more
A September report of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) on broker-dealer compliance with the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) finds...more
Investment advisers, broker-dealers, fund managers and other financial professionals could be impacted in 2024 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) continued focus on upcoming examinations. The SEC unveiled...more
On October 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Examinations (Division) published its examination priorities for its fiscal year 2024 (Oct. 1, 2023 - Sep. 30, 2024). The Division noted that the...more