Category Archive

Watch: Converting a Private Fund to an ETF or a Mutual Fund About This Podcast  Practus, LLP Co-Founders John Lively and Bob Elwood sit down with Nate Baker of “The Lumen Sessions” to discuss the process of converting a private fund to an ETF or mutual fund. They also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this conversion as well as … Read More

Authored By Healthcare Law Attorney, Knicole Emanuel Monitor Mondays RACReport:  Oncologic PET Scans Will Be A Compliance Target  The RACs Are On Attack! The “COVID Pause Button” on RAC audits has been lifted. The COVID Pause Button has been lifted since August 2020. But never have I ever seen Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) spew out so many … Read More

Authored By Karen Aspinall & Ethan Corey  SEC Amendments to Investment Adviser Marketing Rule “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” – John Wanamaker On December 22, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act).  The … Read More

Authored By Karen Aspinall & Ethan Corey  Section II: Defining an “Advertisement” Under the Amended Adviser Marketing Rule “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” – John Wanamaker Overview  In this part of our summary, we explore the new definition of an advertisement under the amended rule.  This definition is very … Read More

Authored By Karen Aspinall & Ethan Corey  Section III: General Prohibitions Under the Amended Investment Adviser Marketing Rule Overview In this part of our summary, we explore the set of seven principles-based general prohibitions that will apply to all advertisements.  These general prohibitions were designed to provide investment advisers with a “principles-based” framework for applying these prohibitions to any particular … Read More

Authored By Karen Aspinall & Ethan Corey  Section IV: Performance Presentations Under the Amended Adviser Marketing Rule Overview In this part of our summary, we explore the performance presentation requirements of the amended advertising rule.  Presentation of performance is an area that can lend itself to numerous compliance issues, such as sufficiency of disclosures, methods of calculation of performance, and … Read More

Authored By Karen Aspinall & Ethan Corey  Section V: Third-Party Rating Requirements Overview  In this part of our summary, we explore the SEC’s new requirements for the use of third-party ratings.  In adopting this part of the advertising rule, the SEC was particularly concerned about the use of third-party ratings as a means to mislead investors (such as only showing … Read More

Authored By Karen Aspinall & Ethan Corey  Section VI: Compliance Reviews, Form ADV Amendments & Recordkeeping Overview In this part of our summary, we provide an overview of the compliance review considerations, Form ADV amendments and recordkeeping obligations under the amended advertising rule.  If you made it this far and read all six of our insights on the amended advertising … Read More

Authored By Andrea Shaw, Practus, LLP Partner November 30, 2020 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued its most recent No-Action Letter (“Letter”) pursuant to its No-Action Letters Policy.  Since announcing this policy in September of 2019 it has issued a handful of Letters under its innovation policies stating it will not take an enforcement action for the specified activities. … Read More

Authored by Karen Aspinall, Financial Services Partner SEC Issues Risk Alert On Larger Trader Obligations Recently, the Division of Examinations (formerly, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations) issued a Risk Alert detailing certain examination observations relating to large trader obligations.  In particular, the SEC staff (the “Staff”) observed that some investment advisers and broker-dealers were not aware of Rule … Read More