The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), on March 31, 2014, announced insider trading charges against two men who allegedly traded on information they overheard from their respective wives. On April 3, 2014, the SEC announced charges against two friends who traded tips related to an impending acquisition deal. The spouse…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) previously announced that its 2014 Examination Priorities included a focus on technology, including cybersecurity preparedness. In connection with that statement of examination priority, OCIE recently issued a Risk Alert to provide additional information concerning its initiative to…
Written by: Jessica M. Brown and Jay B. Gould On March 10, 2014, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) submitted a proposed rule to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) that would require disclosure to certain clients and FINRA regarding the details of a broker-dealer representative’s financial recruiting incentives (the…
Written by: Jessica M. Brown The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) approved two new Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) rules as part of FINRA’s ongoing rulebook consolidation process. The two new rules approved by the SEC on December 23, 2013 consolidate a number of existing NASD and NYSE rules…
Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission published its 2014 priorities for its National Examination Program (“NEP”). These priorities cover a wide range of issues at financial institutions, including investment advisers and investment companies, broker-dealers, clearing agencies, exchanges and other self-regulatory organizations, hedge funds, private equity funds, and transfer agents. Similar…
On April 8, 2013, we reviewed a recent speech by David Blass, the Chief Counsel of the Division of Trading and Markets of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), in which Mr. Blass provided his views on whether certain investment fund managers might be operating in a way that…
In a speech before the American Bar Association’s Trading and Markets Subcommittee on April 5, 2013, David Blass, the Chief Counsel of the Division of Markets and Trading, put hedge fund managers and private equity fund managers on notice that they may be engaged in unregistered (and therefore, unlawful) broker…
Written by: Jessica R. Bogo A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) hearing panel held that FINRA’s own rules prohibiting judicial class action waivers in broker-dealer customer arbitration agreements are preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act and unenforceable. Once this decision becomes final, it will likely change the landscape of broker-dealer…
On February 21, 2013, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Staff” and the “SEC,” respectively) published its 2013 priorities for the National Examination Program (“NEP”) in order to provide registrants with the opportunity to bring their organizations into compliance with the areas that are perceived by the…
Written by: Jay Gould The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) recently charged and entered into consent decrees with four India-based brokerage firms for providing brokerage services to U.S. investors without being registered as broker dealers under the U.S. securities laws. This otherwise mildly interesting enforcement action by the SEC…