The SEC adopted today a number of rulemakings and interpretations focused on bringing greater quality and transparency to the relationships between retail investors and investment advisors and broker-dealers. Of special interest to investment advisors is a new Form CRS Relationship Summary and an interpretation under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 regarding the fiduciary duty of investment advisors.
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) has issued a risk alert relating to Regulation S-P, which requires SEC registered investment advisors to, among other things, provide privacy notices to their customers and adopt written safeguarding policies and procedures to safeguard customer information.
On December 14, 2018, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) issued a risk alert to remind investment advisors of their obligations with respect to electronic communications and social media and to help advisors improve their systems, policies, and procedures.
On October 31, 2018, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) issued a risk alert providing investment advisors with information regarding the most common deficiencies SEC staff have cited relating to Rule 206(4)-3 (the “Cash Solicitation Rule”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
On April 18, 2018, the SEC proposed an interpretation to reaffirm and clarify the Commission’s views regarding the fiduciary duty that investment advisers owe to their clients. In discussing this fiduciary duty, the SEC hopes to clarify for both advisers and their clients the legal obligations investment advisers have to their clients. In addition, the SEC proposed Form CRS, which would require advisers (and broker-dealers) to provide a “relationship summary” to retail investors.
Most chief compliance officers of registered investment advisors are intimately familiar with Form ADV. But what about Form 3 or Form 4 under Section 16? How about HSR? Your advisor may be subject to a number of shareholder and regulatory filings that, if not made timely and accurately, can have serious ramifications. This article provides an overview of some of the more common regulatory filings that advisors may be required to make with the SEC.
A recent administrative proceeding involving a dual-registered investment advisor and broker-dealer demonstrates the importance of providing full and fair disclosure regarding any material conflict of interest and achieving best execution on behalf of advisory clients.
The SEC recently issued a no-action letter (Investment Adviser Association, February 21, 2017) that provides clarification regarding whether an investment advisor acting on a standing letter of authorization ("SLOA") has custody under the Advisers Act.
Late last month, the SEC announced that staff at OCIE are now closely looking at whether registered investment advisors and broker-dealers are complying with the agency's whistleblower regulations under Rule 21F-17. Here is what you need to know.
The SEC recently adopted rules, originally proposed in May 2015, that expand the disclosure requirements in Form ADV, Part 1A. These amendments will be effective 60 days after the publication in the Federal Register and investment advisors will need to start complying starting on October 1, 2017. This means that if your firm's fiscal year ends on December 31, 2017, you will need to comply with the Form ADV changes no later than your annual amendment filing in March 2018. A summary of the more substantive enhancements to Part 1A is provided below.