Category Archive

On September 19, 2019, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued Regulatory Notice 19-31 – Disclosure Innovations in Advertising and Other Communications with the Public (RN 19-31).  RN 19-31 supplements past FINRA guidance on the application of the communications rules to social media and electronic communications.  It responds to questions that FINRA has received from members about how they can … Read More

“Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.”  – Albert Einstein On September 9, 2019, the Division of Investment Management (IM) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued disclosure guidance (so-called accounting and disclosure information) addressing mutual … Read More

“It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission” – quote generally attributed to U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Grace Hopper On September 4, 2019, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a risk alert addressing investment adviser principal and agency cross-trading compliance issues (Risk Alert).   The Risk Alert provides an overview of the … Read More

On August 28, 2019, the staff of the Division of Trading and Markets (T&M) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued an exemption letter to Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (CGMI) to enable CGMI to deliver to institutional customers a single confirmation reflecting aggregated execution information for one or more same-side orders executed in each security during that trading day.1 … Read More

On August 21, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued guidance regarding the proxy voting responsibilities of investment advisers (Proxy Guidance) pursuant to Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act), and their disclosure obligations under Form N-1A, Form N-2, Form N-3, and Form N-CSR under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act). 1 The … Read More

Lloyd Christmas:What are the chances of a guy like me and a girl like you… ending up together? Mary Swanson:Not good. Lloyd Christmas:Not good like one in a hundred? Mary Swanson:I’d say more like one in a million. Lloyd Christmas:So you’re telling me there’s a chance? If Lloyd Christmas had been an investment adviser and had disclosed on his ADV … Read More

One of our Practus Partner’s Bo Howell shares his practical experience on the burgeoning relationships between financial services firms and technology. Read the full article from Nasdaq below. Gone are the days of thinking of technology as something that comes in a box with instructions or as merely a tactical decision that adds a bell or a whistle or just … Read More

SEC FIDUCIARY RULEMAKING  1. REGULATION BI Creates an enhanced standard of conduct applicable to broker-dealers at the time they recommend to a retail customer a securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities. Retail customer: any individual who receives a recommendation from the broker-dealer for the individual’s own account (but not an account for a business that he or she works … Read More

For many asset managers and investment companies, the topic of compliance tends to focus on federal securities, particularly Rule 206(4)-7 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act) and Rule 38a-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Company Act”). While these rules and the SEC’s guidance related to them are important, state law also plays a … Read More