States Challenge New SEC Rules on Small Public Offerings
Two states – Massachusetts and Montana – have filed suit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), challenging the validity of the SEC’s “Regulation A+” rules on the grounds that the...
View ArticleSEC Permits Companies to Sell Securities Through Crowdfunding
The SEC has adopted new rules which would permit companies to offer and sell securities through online crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is a method of raising capital by monetary contributions from a large...
View ArticleOCIE Issues Risk Alert on Use of Outsourced Chief Compliance Officers
Earlier this week, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a new Risk Alert (available here) related to the use of...
View ArticleFINRA Accelerates Public Reporting of Certain Disclosure Information
On Nov. 30, 2015, the SEC approved a change to FINRA’s rule regarding release of certain disclosure information on the BrokerCheck Website. The change will release certain adverse information reported...
View ArticleSEC Charges Attorneys Across the Country for Acting as Unlicensed Securities...
Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a series of enforcement actions against lawyers across the country, charging them with offering EB-5 investments and receiving...
View ArticleHow the SEC Proposed New Derivatives Rules Affect Registered Funds and...
On Dec. 11, 2015, the SEC proposed new derivatives rules for registered funds and business development companies. The proposed rules set limits on portfolio exposure and the requirement that funds...
View ArticleFirst Circuit Offers Rebuke to SEC in Vacating Sanctions Order
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently overturned an order by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) in which the Commission had imposed sanctions against two former...
View ArticleFINRA and MSRB Propose New Pay-to-Play Restrictions on Broker-Dealer...
On Dec. 16, 2015, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) simultaneously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule...
View ArticleSEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations Releases Annual...
On Jan. 11, 2016, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued its annual Examinations Priorities for 2016 (Exam Priorities),...
View ArticleSEC and FINRA Name EB-5 as a Priority in 2016
Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) each published their 2016 exam priorities letters. Each agency publishes an...
View ArticleLeap Year Impacting Regulatory Filing Dates for Investment Advisers
As a reminder, Rule 204-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 requires that all investment advisers amend their Form ADV filing at least annually, and do so within 90 days of the end of the...
View ArticleSEC Acts to Enhance Oversight of Funds and Advisers
During recent months the SEC has made a number of announcements regarding its efforts to enhance and expand its oversight and inspections of registered investment companies and investment advisers. Of...
View ArticleEleventh Circuit Raises Important Questions About Challenging the...
Two weeks ago, the United States Court of Appeals of the Eleventh Circuit heard oral argument in consolidated appeals by the SEC to overturn two orders preliminarily enjoining its administrative...
View ArticleSEC Announces National Compliance Outreach Seminar for Investment Adviser,...
On March 9, the SEC announced that it would be holding a Compliance Outreach Program for investment adviser and investment company senior officers on April 19, 2016, at the SEC’s headquarters in...
View ArticleSEC Continues its Focus on Advisory Fees
The SEC recently brought a settled enforcement action against an SEC-registered investment adviser and its CEO/CCO that represents a continued focus on the calculation of advisory fees. On March 2,...
View ArticlePropriety of Constitutional Challenges to Agency Administrative Proceedings...
Top enforcement chiefs from the SEC, CFTC, DOJ and FINRA participated on a panel discussion of current enforcement trends and issues during the Current Enforcement Issues Panel discussion as part of...
View ArticleSEC Seeks Additional Resources for Examination and Enforcement in FY 2017...
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently presented the President’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget request for the SEC to Congress. Among the notable requests, the SEC seeks significant...
View ArticleNot Every Broker-Dealer is an EB-5 Broker-Dealer
Nearly all U.S. broker-dealers are members of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). FINRA regulates, and provides oversight and guidance for its member firms. When a broker-dealer...
View ArticleSEC Issues No-Action Letter on Custody Rule
On April 25, 2016, the SEC issued a no-action letter to the Investment Advisers Association clarifying its views on the application of Rule 206(4)-2 under the Advisers Act (the Custody Rule) to...
View ArticleSEC Raises Net Worth Threshold for ‘Qualified Client’ Status to $2.1 Million...
As it previously signaled it would do, on June 14, 2016, the SEC issued an Order (available here) increasing the net worth threshold for qualification as a “qualified client” under Rule 205-3 under the...
View Article
