Happy Holidays, everyone! Since you’re all just sitting home with plenty of time on your hands, it is the perfect opportunity to enjoy this post from my colleague Denise Fesdjian, about the SEC’s new marketing rule for RIAs. – Alan
“The SEC score(s) one for the digital age.” These are the words of SEC Commissioner…
We have frequently blogged here about the degree of attention that regulators pay to Chief Compliance Officers, and whether it is proper that they sometimes are named individually in Enforcement actions. And we are hardly the only ones who see this issue. The New York City Bar back in February – I know, that seems…
On October 26, the SEC hosted a roundtable discussion during which the SEC and FINRA shared some of their observations about how firms are doing implementing Regulation Best Interest. If you missed the live presentation, it was recorded and is available here.
The discussion covered a lot of topics and, in some instances, simply…
Having completed my Enforcement hearing conducted by Zoom – more about that in an upcoming post – I can finally turn my attention back to some matters that arose while I was busy.
One that stood out for the sheer (and frightening) universality of its lesson is an SEC settlement entered into by Jonestrading Institutional…
I have blogged before about hold recommendations. Surprisingly – at least to me – the statistics I get from the publisher of this blog reveal that more people have read that particular post than anything else I have written since I started this thing a few years ago. That has to mean something, right? …
Thanks to Blaine not only for attending this conference, but for actually listening, so he could share with you the insights he gleaned from the local securities regulators here in Chicago. – Alan
While much of the broker-dealer world has been trying to figure out how to protect the financial welfare of their customers, in…
My partner, Heidi VonderHeide, has busied herself these last few months learning everything she can about Reg BI. Happily, here is her post on the subject, and it doesn’t predict gloom and doom in the new year as that regulation is implemented. – Alan
Just before the Holidays, I attended FINRA’s one-day Reg BI seminar…
Between the usual holiday season madness and a recent trial, I have been a little tied up lately. Happily, Chris Seps has stepped up with this excellent piece on Reg BI. – Alan
My young boys will sometimes chase me around the house, catch me, and yell “gotcha” as they drag me off to…
Selflessly, Blaine Doyle recently attended a presentation here in Chicago by the SEC and CFTC, so you didn’t have to do it yourself. Here is his recount of the highlights. – Alan
Anyone who has sat through a talk by financial regulators is undoubtedly familiar with the refrain from the individuals that they do not speak for the Commission and that the opinions offered are their own. Even with that disclosure (and they ALWAYS make that disclosure), regulators are still notoriously tight lipped when it comes to just about anything, but especially if it relates to Enforcement. However, when two high ranking officials from the CFTC and SEC decided to present, as the star attractions, at the Chicago Bar Association, they had no choice but to spill the beans. While nobody would accuse them of having given up state secrets, they did offer some insights into where their respective Commissions are and, more importantly, where they are going. With that in mind, here is what they had to say (with special emphasis on the securities side):
While the government shutdown of early 2019 is ancient history to most of us, the speakers from both the CFTC and SEC emphasized the disruption that the break caused to their respective organizations and personnel. Moreover, on the issue of government funding, they both noted that their organizations are understaffed from past hiring freezes and are trying to backfill positions that have been open for some time. The speaker from the CFTC mentioned that in some respects his organization had been in “triage” mode due to personnel shortages and that he was hoping that the additional hires will help ease the work load. So why does this matter to the reader? If you work in the industry, it would be reasonable to expect that as both organizations hire additional staff, scrutiny on registrants and, possibly, the number of enforcement actions will increase in the coming years.…
Continue Reading “The Opinions Offered Today Are Mine Alone And Do Not Represent The Commission” — A Summary Of Recent Remarks From SEC And CFTC Officials
