On December 1, the SEC announced enforcement actions against three advisory firms and six individuals as part of the Commission’s new initiative whereby the Commission’s Asset Management Unit uses proprietary risk analytics to evaluate hedge fund returns. Performance that appears…
The SEC and FINRA have issued a Risk Alert and a Regulatory Notice on broker-dealer branch inspections, and offered suggestions to help securities industry firms better perform this key supervisory function. The Risk Alert noted that the branch inspection process…
On October 3, 2011, Rule 13h-1 went into effect which, among other things, requires “large traders” to begin identifying themselves to the SEC on December 1st by filing Form 13H. Under Rule 13h-1, a “large trader” is defined as a…
Last month, FINRA proposed Rule 5123 which, if adopted by the SEC, would have a huge impact on broker-dealers that offer or sell any security conducted in reliance on an exemption from registration under the Securities Act (i.e., a private…
In September of 2010, the California legislature passed AB 1743 to supervise “External Managers” and require “Placement Agents” to register as lobbyists. Generally speaking, “External Managers” are defined as a person or entity who is retained or seeking to be retained…
The North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”) recently released a set of examination findings which identify the common compliance deficiencies for state registered investment advisers. The press release listed the top deficiencies revealed in a series of coordinated state examinations…
Presently, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prevents companies from issuing shares for capital unless they register with the SEC. However, a House panel recently approved legislation sanctioning “crowdfunding.” The legislation would allow new businesses to raise up to $5…
A recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) has no legal authority to bring an action in court to collect fines imposed on its members. This…
On October 12, 2011, the SEC, together with the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), issued proposed regulations implementing Section 619 of the Dodd-Frank Act, popularly referred to…
On September 29, 2011, the SEC issued a Risk Alert warning of concerns regarding trading through sub-accounts, and offered suggestions to help the securities industry address those risks. Generally, in the master/sub-account trading model, a top-level customer [1] opens an account with…