I assume most of you are out of the office on Monday and Tuesday to celebrate the original Brexit in 1776. I’m out riding my bike to get ready for the Pan-Mass Challenge. (There’s still time to make a donation to fight cancer.) Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for June 30
These are some of the compliance-related stories that recently caught my attention. SEC’s Clayton Vows to Do More Exams with Less Funding in AdvisorHub SEC Chairman Jay Clayton testified to Congress on Tuesday morning that the agency will increase its examinations of investment advisers by 20% in the current fiscal year and nudge the numbers … Read more »
SEC Releases New Form ADV Frequently Asked Questions
Earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission released 23 new frequently asked questions (“FAQs”) on Form ADV to provide guidance on recent amendments to Form ADV. Those amendments become effective in October. These new FAQs include guidance on (i) the umbrella registration approach that many private fund sponsors use to register multiple affiliates and … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar for June 16
I want to clarify my Pay-to-Play and Yard Signs post from earlier this week. I think an early draft of the post was sent through the email system that was incorrect. A senior SEC official clearly stated that yard signs are not limited by the Pay-to-Play Rule and that the speaker who made the statement was … Read more »
Yard Signs and Pay to Play
I was fortunate to be able to attend the Securities and Exchange Commission’s CCO Outreach in Boston yesterday. I’ll post more later, but today I wanted focus on one topic that one panel discussed: the pay to play rule. The CCO Outreach stated that they were not trying to play “gotcha” as part of the … Read more »
Financial Choice Act Passes the House
While the political lens was focused on the James Comey testimony, the House of Representatives passed the Financial Choice Act. The bill is big change to many of the Dodd-Frank. For private funds, the most interesting section is: TITLE IV—Unleashing Opportunities For Small Businesses, Innovators, And Job Creators By Facilitating Capital Formation. The Financial Choice … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar: Post-Comey Edition
Politics aside, one of the key items I saw in the Comey testimony yesterday was the effect of perception on interactions between a boss and his employees. Mr. Comey said he did “take as a direction” the president’s words to mean he should drop the investigation. That may or may not have been the intention … Read more »
A Continuing Look as CCO Liability in the Stanford Ponzi Scheme
Eight years ago, Stanford Financial Group collapsed and was labeled a Ponzi scheme. The Securities and Exchange Commission is continuing to seek penalties for those involved. One of those is Bernerd Young, who served as the Chief Compliance Officer at Stanford Group Company, the Texas-based registered investment adviser and broker dealer that promoted the Stanford CDs to US investors. … Read more »
Supreme Court Limits One of the SEC’s Remedies
The Securities and Exchange Commission has essentially been claiming that its remedy of disgorgement is not subject to a statute of limitations. To the SEC, disgorgement is not punitive but remedial in that it lessens the effects of a violation by restoring the status quo. Charles Kokesh decided to fight back against this position. In the … Read more »
Compliance Bricks and Mortar Post-Paris Edition
President Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. The U.S. is the world’s second-largest emitter of carbon, with China in the top spot. China affirmed its commitment to meeting its targets under the Paris Climate Agreement and recently canceled construction of 100 coal-fired power plants, with plans to invest billions in … Read more »