The Securities and Exchange Commission recently announced the filing of an administrative proceeding against a registered investment adviser and the investment advisers owner/CCO for failing to adopt compliance policies and procedures, a Code of Ethics, and for failing to conduct annual reviews of the same. The advisory firm is Two…
While designed as a capital formation alternative to going public or conducting a private placement offering under Section 4(a)(2), use of the intrastate offering exemption has not been widely used since the SEC revised the regulation in 2016. Sometimes referred as “crowdfunding” due to the ability to raise smaller amounts…
Organizations seeking to raise capital have multiple options at their disposal – each with their own benefits, limitations, and regulatory obligations. As part of the JOBS Act, the SEC was tasked with reviewing an almost century old regulatory structure with the goal of easing and modernizing aspects of the federal…
On October 26, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) proposed a rule that would prohibit investment advisers from using certain third party service providers without additional due diligence and monitoring. The proposed rule provides an oversight framework for investment advisers designed to ensure that any “covered functions” outsourced to…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced a series of enforcement actions centered on several of the largest broker-dealers in the financial sector. The enforcement actions addressed longstanding failures of the firms and their employees to preserve certain electronic communications. The 15 broker-dealers, and one affiliated investment adviser, admitted…
While it comes with little surprise, on Monday the SEC’s Division of Examinations officially announced the areas of focus regarding compliance with the New Marketing Rule. The recently released Risk Alert was expected as the compliance date for the New Marketing Rule is quickly approaching. Initially introduced in December 22,…
On August 3, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published a Staff Bulletin related to compensation incentives that may cause a conflict of interest in violation of Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”) rules and the SEC’s fiduciary standards for investment advisers (“IA fiduciary standard”). Reg BI and the…
For the past several years, regulators at both the federal and state levels have placed a greater emphasis on the advisory fees charged to retail clients and how those fees are calculated and disclosed. We have previously written about these efforts publicized through Risk Alerts, Exam Priorities and Observations, and…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently released a Staff Bulletin regarding the Standards of Conduct for Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers Account Recommendations for Retail Investors. Since the adoption of Regulation Best Interest, or Reg BI, in 2019, the SEC has issued guidance and best practices for adoption of the…
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently released the 2022 Examination Priorities from the Division of Examinations, formerly known as the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations. This annual release provides insight into the areas that the SEC plans to highlight when examining investment advisers during the coming year. While…