The SEC recently entered a cease-and-desist order against an SEC-registered investment adviser Federal Prep Advisors, Inc. (“Federal Prep”) and its principal regarding its rollover recommendations from Thrift Savings Plan (“TSP”) accounts to advisory Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”). The SEC determined that Federal Prep did not adequately evaluate and disclose the…
The SEC recently announced its annual Examination Priorities for the 2025 year. This annual release provides insight into the areas that the SEC plans to highlight when inspecting investment advisers, investment companies, broker-dealers, and other entities subject to examination by the SEC’s Division of Examinations. For investment advisers, the 2025…
Last month, the SEC announced a series of settled enforcement actions against investment advisers who routinely failed to file 13F and 13H reports with the Commission. The actions are tied to the SEC’s announced examination priority to assess the accuracy and completeness of regulatory filings. Depending on the frequency, aggregate…
Last week, the SEC announced a series of enforcement actions tied to its ongoing sweep of investment adviser compliance with the new Marketing Rule. In total, nine firms settled claims that they violated Advisers Act Rule 206(4)-1, the “new Marketing Rule,” resulting in $1,240,000 in civil penalties. We have previously…
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) adopted final rules to bring the majority of the investment advisory industry under the reporting requirements for illicit finance activity. The update brings “investment advisers,” as defined under the new rule, within the definition of “financial institution” for regulation under the Bank Secrecy Act…
In November 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted new rule 14Ad-1, which requires that institutional investment managers that are subject to the reporting requirements of section 13(f) of the Exchange Act annually report each say-on-pay vote over which the manager had voting power on the Form N-PX.…
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a final rule that drastically changes the employment landscape by banning most types of noncompete provisions nationwide and rendering some existing ones unenforceable. The rule was adopted following a review of the non-competition landscape by the FTC. That review of…
On April 12, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced they had settled charges against 5 registered investment advisers for violations of the SEC’s Marketing Rule. The announcement follows prior enforcement actions for similar violations, which we have previously addressed: SEC Fines 9 RIAs for Marketing Rule Violations,…
Last month, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released notice of a proposed rule that would impose new requirements on certain investment advisers under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Specifically, the new rule would include some advisers within the rule’s definition of “financial institution,” thereby bringing those new advisers within…
In connection with its recently proposed amendment to the definition of investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (Code), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) also released a proposed amendment to PTE 2020-02: Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees. Under…