The brief answer is no. Many years ago, as a young lawyer, my then boss, Phil Hoblin Sr. taught me that the method of the fraud doesn’t change, the instruments change. So did SBF come up with a new method to defraud people. He did not. He simply used crypto to commit his fraud. You […]
On June 5, 2019, the SEC on a 3 to 1 vote approved Regulation Best Interest. This regulation is the SEC’s attempt to align broker-dealers with the fiduciary rule that governs investment advisers. It has been a long-held belief that broker-dealers have internal conflicts because they sell products that are packaged by affiliates and sell […]
When I started my blog I had a vision of a dialogue among professionals engaged in the securities industry. But at that time I was more of a lawyer than an entrepreneur. Lawyers believe that everyone wants to understand the smallest detail about a law. What I have found is that clients and prospective clients […]
The world seems to be in a state of complete chaos. But if you are a Chief Compliance Officer of a broker-dealer or investment adviser you may have noticed that the SEC and FINRA have not let all of the chaos alter their focus. Deregulation has not set in with either body. So for […]
Happy New Year. I know it is a new year because FINRA has issued its Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter. As with every yearly letter, it mostly covers the topics from the prior year. This year Operational and Financial Risks are clearly going to be a focus of examinations. Not surprising in the Sales Practice Section […]
As I open my new law office I decided it was time to relaunch my Blog/Website. So as of today I have a new look on my Blog. Come back as I write not only about broker-dealers, investment advisors and other financial institutions, but also about the practice of law for those entities. Also you […]
The SEC has announced another enforcement action against a PE fund adviser. Four affiliated fund advisers of Apollo Global Management have agreed to settle an enforcement action for $52.7 million. The charges were misleading fund investors about fees and a loan agreement and failing to supervise a senior partner who charged personal expenses to the funds. […]
As it does every year FINRA has published its Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter. This year it is focused on three broad issues: Culture, Conflict of Interest and Ethics Supervision, Risk Management and Control Liquidity FINRA and its predecessor entities have always talked about “firm culture”. But this year they have given it a definition: […]
I just posted on my blog Crowdfunding-lawblog.com , a look at possible differences between funding portals and broker-dealers as they function as intermediaries in the crowd.
Earlier this week I told investment advisers CCOs not to lose sleep. I suggested that during this 45 day period until registration you should systematically review your compliance and supervisory policies and procedures. I missed the fun yesterday. Yesterday at the Investment Adviser Association Investment Adviser Compliance Conference Robert Plaze, Deputy Director of the SEC Division of Investment Management warned […]
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