Failures to Safeguard Personal Information Costs Morgan Stanley Smith Barney $35 Million What happened? On Sept. 20, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Morgan Stanley Smith Barney [...]

SEC Risk Alert on the New Marketing Rule: Act Now to Prepare What happened? Examiners will conduct “a number of specific national initiatives” that focus on the new Marketing [...]

SEC Charges Two Advisory Firms for Custody Rule Violations Among Other Violations What happened? On September 9, 2022, the Security and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged several investment advisers who [...]

The SEC’s Strategic Plan for 2022-2026 Fiscal Years What happened? On August 24, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its plans for the 2022-2026 Fiscal Years [...]

SEC Fines Adviser in Wrap Fee Program Dispute What happened? On August 26, 2022, Kovack Advisors, Inc. (“KAI”) settled with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for almost [...]

Division of Examinations Notice: Rule 206(4)-3 (Cash Payments for Client Solicitations) Rescission and your ADV Brochure What happened? Investment advisers with references to cash solicitation arrangements in their Form [...]

The SEC Adopts New Amendments to its Whistleblower Program What happened? On August 26, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted two amendments to the rules guiding its [...]

The FTC’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Commercial Surveillance and Data Security What happened? On August 22, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published an advance notice of [...]

Private Fund Examination Requests and Record-Keeping What happened? Given the growth of private fund assets and the significance of exam findings in the last several years the SEC has [...]

Risk Alert: Apple Releases Security Updates Fixing Two Security Flaws That Allow Access to Hacking of Mac OS, iPad OS, and iOS What happened? Apple released emergency security updates [...]

SEC Charges 18 Defendants in International Scheme to Manipulate Stocks Using Hacked US Brokerage Accounts What happened? The U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged 18 individuals involved [...]

Proposed Amendments to Form PF What happened? Since its adoption in 2011, Form PF has been used by private fund advisers to describe required information regarding their fund’s operations. [...]

SEC Charges JPMorgan, UBS, and TradeStation for Deficiencies Relating to the Prevention of Customer Identity Theft What happened? The SEC announced in a press release that it separately charged [...]

SEC Examination Requests Regarding E-signatures What happened? Electronic signatures have become an important part of advisers’ daily business. While the SEC’s Division of Exams (EXAMS) has not yet published [...]