A new limited broker/dealer classification framework at the federal level has been created as the result of a recent SEC Order approving a FINRA rule proposal seeking to address the longstanding industry desire for augmented exemptive relief and/or limited registration classifications for broker/dealers that restrict their activities to certain designated…
Last month the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) sanctioned a registered investment adviser and its managing member for violating the Investment Adviser’s Act of 1940 (“Adviser’s Act”) and for acting as an unregistered broker-dealer in connection with the services the adviser provided to a private fund that it managed…
Increased focus on cybersecurity by the Security Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) continues as it recently issued charges against Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (“Morgan Stanley”) for failing to adopt written policies and procedures reasonably designed to protect confidential client information. These charges stemmed from a cybersecurity breach which began in 2011 and…
Last month, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) suspended an Ameriprise registered representative for one year and fined him $50,000 for altering a record in the client relationship management (“CRM”) software that the adviser used in his Ameriprise office. This enforcement case points to the dangers for broker-dealer representatives and…
The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) of the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently released its Examination Priorities for 2016. These examination priorities provide valuable insight into what OCIE perceives to be the greatest risk to investors and what it will be focusing its efforts on throughout the year.…
On September 22, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced an important cybersecurity enforcement action that has broad implications to registered investment advisers. In a Settlement Order, the SEC found R.T. Jones Capital Equities Management, a St. Louis-based investment adviser, “willfully violated” the Safeguards Rule. From September 2009 through July…
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) on Sept. 15, 2015 issued Risk Alert to announce its new focus on cybersecurity of securities firms and registered investment advisers. Cybersecurity programs of securities firms had best be strengthened, otherwise they may be subject to additional…
The Broker-Dealer section of the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”) recently sent out a notice of request for comment on a proposed uniform state model rule (“Model Rule”) that would exempt merger and acquisition brokers (“M&A Brokers”) from state securities registration if certain requirements were met. While NASAA’s proposed…
On October 22, 2014, Michigan took a significant step to increase investment crowdfunding opportunities for Michigan businesses by becoming the first state to establish an intrastate market where broker-dealers can sell securities of Michigan-based companies. While “crowdfunding” can have different meanings, including rewards-based fundraising campaigns on sites like Kickstarter and…
In a settlement that underscores the SEC’s increased scrutiny of crowdfunding sites and whether they are acting as broker-dealers, the SEC agreed to a settlement with Eureeca Capital SPC (“Eureeca”), on November 10, 2014, over charges alleging willful violations of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act and Section…