Author: The Securities Compliance Team

Background On March 27, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to modernize the rule for internet investment advisers relying on the exemption that qualifies them for SEC registration as smaller investment advisers. Investment advisers generally need to meet the assets under management threshold, advise a registered investment company,… Continue reading →

On April 12, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges against five registered investment advisers for violations of the Marketing Rule. The firms have agreed to settle and pay a combined $200,000 in penalties, as well as cease and desist from violating the charged provisions, and to implement… Continue reading →

On April 3, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges against a registered investment adviser for recordkeeping failures regarding personal device communications and pre-clearance of securities transactions in employees’ personal accounts. The firm was charged and agreed to pay a $6.5 million dollar penalty and to implement improvements to… Continue reading →

Background On March 18, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced settled charges against two SEC registered investment advisers for making false and misleading statements about their purported use of artificial intelligence (“AI”). The firms agreed to settle the SEC’s charges and pay $400,000 in total civil penalties. Cause of… Continue reading →

Last week, the Enforcement unit of the SEC’s Boston branch commenced Marketing Rule sweeps, notifying affected firms to preserve and produce records. Although I have no empirical proof thereof, I am assuming that they are using AI to comb through advisory firm web sites. I am currently addressing a few… Continue reading →

New Rule 14Ad-1 requires all institutional investment managers (i.e., including registered investment advisers that manage client assets-see below) that are 13F filers to report say-on-pay votes on the new version of Form N-PX when voting on the approval of executive compensation, including, but not limited to, “golden parachute” compensation. The term “golden parachute” generally refers… Continue reading →

On February 13, 2024, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed a rule to combat criminals and foreign adversaries from exploiting the U.S. financial system through investment advisers (the “FinCEN Rule”). The FinCEN Rule will add system transparency and help law enforcement identify risks from anonymous… Continue reading →

The SEC approved eleven spot Bitcoin ETFs on January 10, 2024. As a result, investment advisers may be curious about whether or how to integrate Bitcoin ETFs into client portfolios. This blog is intended to provide an update on the regulatory landscape and inform advisers how to fulfill their compliance… Continue reading →

Investment adviser representative continuing education requirements are critically important. Please read this alert carefully, as investment adviser representative registration may be at risk if you do not follow the instructions. Failure to complete the requirements may lead to representative deregistration in certain jurisdictions. In late 2020, the North American Securities… Continue reading →

Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies With recent developments in the regulatory, legal, and compliance landscape surrounding Bitcoin and a spot Bitcoin ETF (i.e., an ETF backed by physical Bitcoins. If the value of the digital coins backing the ETF rises, the value of the investment will generally be expected to increase),… Continue reading →