The SEC obtained a $13.9 million penalty against former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat K. Gupta for illegally tipping corporate secrets to former hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam. Gupta also is permanently barred from serving as an officer or director … Continued
Most of the investment advisers registered with the SEC who maintain custody of their clients’ investment funds aren’t subject to surprise annual examinations, according to a new federal report. A study released last Monday by the Government Accountability Office found that, … Continued
. . . that an SEC Enforcement action is more likely to result from a sweep examination than from a routine examination? That is because sweep exams are usually spurred when a particular business practice of concern has come to … Continued
The IRS announced that the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) generally will be delayed for six months and the FATCA registration portal will open on August 19, 2013.
The SEC recently announced the second-ever Dodd-Frank whistleblower award. Based on data released by the SEC after the first full year of the new Dodd-Frank whistleblower program, as well as recent remarks by an SEC official, an increasing number of awards … Continued
Last August, in order to comply with the Congressional mandate to implement Section 201(a)(1) of the JOBS Act, the SEC proposed a rule that would remove the general solicitation ban for certain 506 offerings in which sales of securities would … Continued
Mary Jo White, chairman of the SEC, wants to add 250 more examiners to police investment advisers, but the agency needs up to 2,000 to boost its policing of the business significantly. Adding 250 investment-adviser examiners — a priority of Ms. … Continued
Securities regulators are going to try to extract admissions of wrongdoing from defendants in some of their settlements, a move that could ultimately force more cases to go to trial, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White said Tuesday.
Whether a third-party statement is a testimonial depends upon all of the facts and circumstances relating to the statement. The term “testimonial” is not defined in Rule 206(4)-1(a)(1), but SEC staff consistently interprets that term to include a statement of … Continued
Frequently Asked Questions regarding the Identity Theft Red Flags Rules have just been added to our resources page.
The SEC has charged a Dallas-based registered investment adviser’s primary equity trader with insider trading and trading ahead of large block trades for the adviser’s clients through one of his wife’s brokerage accounts. The trader failed to report his wife’s … Continued
On April 10th, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) jointly approved a final rule requiring broker-dealers, mutual funds, federally registered investment advisers, and certain other regulated entities to adopt programs designed to detect … Continued
“No sooner had a solution been found than a new solution was needed.”
In recent testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services, Chairman Mary Jo White of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) discussed some of the recent activities of the SEC. The testimony addressed several key areas … Continued
Mary Jo White, head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, told the House Financial Services Committee that the agency’s top priority is increasing examination of financial advisers. “Significant additional coverage is essential if investors are to be appropriately protected,” she … Continued
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Carlo V. di Florio will leave the agency after leading its National Exam Program for more than three years. Mr. di Florio will depart later this month to lead a new division … Continued
With the recent passage of the Identity Theft Red Flags Rules by the SEC (in effect, applying existing rules specifically to investment advisers), the topic of identity theft has once again moved front and center. However, whatever their obligations on … Continued
The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted unanimously to adopt rules requiring broker-dealers, mutual funds, investment advisers, and certain other entities regulated by the agency to adopt programs to detect red flags and prevent identity theft. FACT SHEET Preventing and … Continued
Apparently, the SEC is now requesting a quarterly trade blotter rather than yearly trade records.
There appears to be a new section in the “standard” SEC examination request letter. It asks for due diligence procedures used by the advisory firm’s portfolio managers, investment committee or analysts used to select stocks. Then the letter requests specific … Continued