In 2013 the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations at the Securities Exchange Commission laid out their examination priorities for 2013 and did so again last year with its 2014 Examination Priorities. OCIE just released its Examination Priorities for 2015.
One item jumps out for a focus for private funds:
Fees and Expenses in Private Equity. Given the high rate of deficiencies that we have observed among advisers to private equity funds in connection with fees and expenses, we will continue to conduct examinations in this area.
Given the resources focused on this last year, it’s no surprise that this remains an initiative for the national exam program.
What is surprising is how different the priorities look from last year’s release. It is much more sparse and focused than in the past.
OCIE announced three broad areas of priority:
Retail Investors – Retail investors are being offered products and services that were formerly characterized as alternative or institutional, including private funds, illiquid investments, and structured products. Additionally, financial services firms are offering a broad array of information, advice, products, and services to help retail investors plan for and live in retirement. OCIE will assess risks to retail investors that can arise from these trends.
Market-Wide Risks – OCIE will examine for structural risks and trends that involve multiple firms or entire industries, including: monitoring large broker-dealers and asset managers in coordination with the SEC’s policy divisions, conducting annual examinations of clearing agencies as required by the Dodd-Frank Act, assessing cybersecurity controls across a range of industry participants, and examining broker-dealers’ compliance with best execution duties in routing equity order flow.
Data Analytics – Over the last several years, OCIE has made significant enhancements that enable exam staff to analyze large amounts of data efficiently and effectively. OCIE will use these capabilities to focus on registrants and registered representatives that appear to be potentially engaged in illegal activity.
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