The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently announced that during the first half of fiscal year 2021, the SEC has already exceeded previous fiscal year’s record for individual whistleblower awards. Click here for the SEC’s press release.
Category Archives: SEC
Texas Securities Board Amends Rules to Harmonize with SEC’s New Accredited Investor Definition
March 29, 2021
On March 21, 2021, the Texas Securities Board adopted several amendments to its rules and regulations for registered investment advisers and other financial institutions, intended to harmonize the state’s rules with the amended definitions of accredited investor and qualified institutional buyer implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) in December 2020. Concurrently, the Texas Securities Board adopted additional amendments which affect broker dealers and other financial institutions other than registered investment advisers. A summary of the most recent changes adopted by the Texas Securities Board is available here.
SEC Announces 2021 Examination Priorities for RIAs
March 15, 2021
On March 3, 2021, the Division of Examinations (formerly known as the “Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released its 2021 Examination Priorities, an annual report discussing the Division of Examination’s areas of focus including investment advisers registered with the SEC (“RIAs”) for the coming year. In this report, the Division of Examinations (“Division”) noted that it intends to continue to prioritize examinations of SEC registered investment advisers, broker-dealers, and dually registered or affiliated firms, particularly those that have never been examined or have not been examined recently. In doing so, the Division will emphasize protection of retail investors and those saving for retirement.
SEC Is Focusing on ESG Investing by RIAs
March 05, 2021
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) made it abundantly clear this week that it will be focusing (i.e., exams and enforcement actions) on ESG investing by investment advisers firms (“RIAs”).
SEC Exam Priorities for Investment Advisers Managing Digital Assets
February 27, 2021
SEC Risk Alert
SEC Brings Enforcement Action Against RIA for Allegedly Failing to Disclose Adverse Info About Promissory Notes Issuer
February 07, 2021
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently instituted a cease-and-desist proceeding against an SEC registered investment adviser firm and its principal for failure to disclose material information to a client regarding promissory notes issued by a third-party, which eventually was charged in June 2018 by the SEC with an offering fraud and placed under receivership in December 2018. Click here to view the SEC order in this matter; the following is a summary of the SEC’s allegations in this matter, RIA Compliance Consultants, Inc. has not verified the accuracy of such allegations.
SEC’s Investor Advocate Identifies Leveraged and Inverse ETFs as Risk to Retail Investors
January 26, 2021
Under Section 4(g)(6)B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended, the Investor Advocate of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is required to prepare a summary of the most serious problems encountered by investors with financial products. Accordingly, in its Report on Activities, Fiscal Year 2020 to the U.S. Congress, the SEC’s Investor Advocate reviewed the risks associated with leveraged and inverse exchange traded funds while discussing the Commission’s recent approval of the final version of the SEC’s Derivatives Rule which removed provisions that would have required investment advisers to exercise due diligence before approving retail investor accounts to invest in leveraged and inverse exchange traded funds (“ETFs”).
There is good news for investment adviser firms located in the United Kingdom (“UK”) desiring to register as an investment adviser firm with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
On December 22, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced it has adopted amendments (also known as the “marketing rule”) to its rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”) that govern advertising and cash solicitation activities by investment advisers registered with the SEC. Unlike the proposed amendments, the SEC’s finalized marketing rule addresses both advertising and soliciting under a single rule. Click here to read the SEC’s final rule release for this new marketing rule for investment advisers.
