The SEC’s exam division recently released a Risk Alert detailing the top six compliance failures relating to fees and expenses charged by investment advisors, as identified through client deficiency letters. Read More

Senator Elizabeth Warren wants regulators to make sure Wall Street isn’t dodging the #MeToo movement. Last month, the Massachusetts Democrat and two other senators asked FINRA and the SEC for data on the prevalence of sexual harassment abuse in the industry. Read More

The SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) has published its 2018 examination priorities. To no one’s surprise, it will continue to focus on the protection of retail investors and ensuring that registrants are appropriately disclosing or resolving conflicts of interest. Additionally, the OCIE will pay particular attention to developments in cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings (ICOs) and the oversight of FINRA and MSRB firms. Read More

In a speech at the Practicing Law Institute’s 49th Annual Institute on Securities Regulation in New York last week, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton used one word to describe his agency’s plan to deter, mitigate and eliminate fraud in the near and long-term future... Read More

As the number of registered investment advisers continues to increase, the SEC is set on stepping up its scrutiny of this fast growing class of investment professionals. Read More

Last week, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations released a Risk Alert announcing an upcoming examination initiative that focuses on the supervisory practices of SEC-registered investment advisers and how they monitor advisory personnel in disparate branch locations. Read More

Last Friday, SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White gave a speech at the New York University School of Law Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement, during which she addressed how her agency has transformed the way it enforces federal securities laws. Read More

On October 12, 2016 the SEC announced its enforcement results for the 2016 fiscal year, which touted a recording breaking year. Not only did the SEC increase the number of enforcement actions this past year but it also obtained judgments totaling more than $4 billion in disgorgement and penalties. Read More

To address the financial exploitation of seniors, FINRA has recently submitted a proposal to the SEC that would require firms to make reasonable efforts to obtain the name of and contact information for a trusted contact person for a customer’s account. Read More

According to the SEC’s complaint, BlueLinx added the monetary recovery prohibition to all of its severance agreements in mid-2013, nearly two years after the SEC’s adoption of Rule 21F-17, which strictly prohibits any action to impede someone from communicating with the SEC about possible securities law violations. Read More