The SEC’s Latest Exam and Request List Trends WHAT HAPPENED? With new SEC leadership in place, including Chairman Gary Gensler and Director of Enforcement Gurbir Grewal, the Commission’s examination trends continue to evolve. Some focus areas, like cybersecurity and business continuity, are more relevant than ever with the changes [...]
Compliance Considerations for RIAs and BDs Trading Digital Asset Securities WHAT HAPPENED? Digital assets continue to be a hot topic among regulators as these securities gain momentum in the marketplace. While more comprehensive regulations around these trades are implemented, examiners from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission are emphasizing [...]
OCIE Risk Alert: common compliance program issues WHAT HAPPENED? On Nov. 19, 2020, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (OCIE) released a Risk Alert outlining common compliance concerns among registered investment advisers. The list was compiled based on recent compliance examinations [...]
Does your firm include text messages in its recordkeeping? WHAT HAPPENED? Recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released information about proceedings against a California broker-dealer, which failed to retain employee text message records. The SEC became aware of the activity when investigating an enforcement matter concerning a third [...]
Department of Labor Announces 18-Month Delay of the Fiduciary Rule WHAT HAPPENED? The Department of Labor has announced that the applicability date of the Fiduciary Rule’s Best Interest Contract Exemption, the Principal Transactions Exemption and specific amendments to Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-24 (PTE)s have been delayed from January 1, [...]
Reminder that the New Form ADV Rules Took Effect on October 1, 2017 WHAT HAPPENED? On October 1, 2017, the amendments to Part 1A of Form ADV and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) took effect. The amendments, which are described in a previous Flash Report, [...]
SEC Provides Updates from Investigation of 2016 Cyber Intrusion WHAT HAPPENED? On October 2, 2017, the SEC provided an update on its ongoing staff investigation of the 2016 cyber intrusion into the EDGAR system. The SEC announced that the third party performing the intrusion acquired the names, birth dates [...]
PE Firm Charged with Improper Allocation of Broken Deal Expenses WHAT HAPPENED? On September 21, 2017, the SEC charged a registered investment adviser with improperly allocating broken deal expenses between three private equity funds it manages (collectively, the “Private Equity Funds”) and separate co-investment vehicles (the “Co-Investors”). From 2004 [...]
Amendments to the Books and Records Rule, Effective October 1st WHAT HAPPENED? Effective October 1st, advisers will be required to comply with the revised Books and Records Rule. Under the new rule, advisers must maintain additional records supporting the calculation and distribution of performance information. The amendments were made [...]
OCIE Announces Most Frequent Advertising Rule Risks Identified in Examinations WHAT HAPPENED? On September 14, 2017, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) announced the most frequent compliance issues with the Advertising Rule that were identified in their recent deficiency letters and examinations. The Advertising Rule states that [...]