10 For 10: Top Compliance Stories For the Week Ending March 15, 2025
Ep. 3 - The Art of Parallel Investigations (Part 2)
Episode 286 -- Matt Stankiewicz on the Ripple Decision and Celsius CEO Indictment
Blue Sky Laws: Defending State-Level Securities Violations
The Justice Insiders: The Administrative State is Not Your Friend - A Conversation with Professor Richard Epstein
Four Decision Points in SEC Securities Investigations
Crypto Enforcement Is Here, and Always Has Been
Cryptocurrency: The Regulator’s Perspective
Investment Management Roundtable Discussion – Regulatory and Enforcement Update
To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week....more
Each month, we publish a roundup of the most important SEC enforcement developments for busy in-house lawyers and compliance professionals. For the month when Paul Atkins was sworn in as SEC Chairman, we examine: • The SEC’s...more
Rule 144A and Regulation D offer exemptions from federal securities registration requirements under the Securities Act of 1933. However, they apply to different situations, and overseas companies must follow distinct...more
The SEC’s recent order instituting administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings (OIP) against registered investment advisers Two Sigma Investments LP and Two Sigma Advisers LP illustrates significant risks for investment...more
The number of accounting-related securities class action filings and settlements remained steady in 2024, with the number of filings increasing slightly and for the third consecutive year, according to a new report from...more
Section 47(b) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 provides that contracts that violate or “whose performance involves, a violation of” the act are not enforceable by “either party.” ...more
In this issue of our monthly Securities Enforcement Roundup, we highlight top securities enforcement developments and cases from December 2024. In December 2024: President-elect Trump nominated former SEC Commissioner Paul...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on November 22, 2024, that three broker-dealers have agreed to settle charges for filing suspicious activity reports (SARs) that failed to include important, required...more
On November 22, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its enforcement results for fiscal year (FY) 2024. As compared to FY 2023, the Division of Enforcement (the division) reported a 26% decline in the total...more
On August 28, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to certain registered investment companies (funds) reporting requirements. The SEC originally proposed the amendments on November 2, 2022....more
SEC Developments - In Twin Actions, SEC Charges Former Kubient CEO for Fraud and Former CFO and Audit Committee Chair for Failing to Investigate and Perpetuating CEO’s Fraud....more
The SEC has increased its enforcement efforts against firms that are registered as broker-dealers and/or investment advisers for alleged violations of federal securities laws involving “off-channel communications.” Such...more
Securities class action settlements often include what is commonly referred to as a “blow provision”—a provision designed to give defendants the option to terminate the settlement agreement if a specified threshold of...more
Earlier this month, the Southern District of New York issued its final ruling and remedies order in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Ripple Labs, Inc. Judge Analisa Torres found that the SEC failed to show that any...more
While the number of settlements in 2023 declined by more than 20% from 2022, 2023 total settlement dollars were roughly the same as in 2022....more
Insights and Findings - Continuing an increase observed in 2022, the size of settled cases in 2023 (measured by the median settlement amount) reached the highest level in over a decade. This occurred despite a decline in...more
In 2023, while the number of settled securities class actions declined 21% relative to the 15-year high in 2022, the median settlement amount, median “simplified tiered damages,” and median total assets of issuer defendants...more
The number of securities class action settlements declined 21% relative to 2022, following the 15-year high set in 2022, according to a new report released today by Cornerstone Research. Despite the decline in settlement...more
In 2023, MDL was the second highest on record while DDL decreased by 46%. The combined number of federal Section 11 and state 1933 Act filings fell to the lowest level in the last 10 years. The share of core federal filings...more
Overall filing volume increased slightly in 2023 to 215 filings from 208 in 2022. The number of “core” filings—those excluding M&A filings—also increased slightly. The size of core filings when measured by Maximum Dollar Loss...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission expanded its accounting and auditing enforcement activity in fiscal year 2023, while monetary settlements dropped for the second consecutive year, according to a new report released...more
With the close of FINRA’s fiscal year comes the opportunity for broker-dealer firms to consider where regulators have focused their enforcement efforts and also what can be expected in the coming year. Fortunately, FINRA has...more
Since 1972, the SEC has prohibited defendants who settle civil enforcement actions with the SEC without admitting or denying wrongdoing from later publicly “denying the allegations in the complaint” filed against them. The...more
...SEC Adopts Amendments to Fund Names Rule - On September 20, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Rule 35d-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the Fund Names Rule) as well...more
Though “insider trading” has long been recognized as an illegal and abusive way to cheat in the securities trading game, new potential forms of this activity have recently emerged. ...more