For many years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has maintained that, in order to register a non-U.S. investment adviser firm under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, it must be able to access the registrant’s books and records for examination purposes.
Under the new leadership of Acting Chair Mark Uyeda, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently issued and settled a cease-and-desist order that serves as a stark reminder: an investment adviser’s fiduciary duty to act in client’s best interests remains the bedrock for an investment adviser.
In a recent cease-and-desist order, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) censured and fined two investment adviser firms for allegedly failing to supervise “cherry-picking” practices by two of its investment adviser representatives (IARs).
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently settled charges against 11 institutional investment managers for failing to file Form 13F, a critical filing requirement for those who exercise investment discretion over $100 million or more in certain equity securities. The SEC emphasized the importance of compliance with Form 13F, which ensures transparency in securities holdings and fosters market integrity.
If your investment adviser firm is required to file Form 13F, please be aware that your firm is now required (subject to certain exceptions) by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to file an annual report on Form N-PX by August 31, 2024. This report will cover the most recent 12-month period ending June 30 and must include the firm’s proxy voting record related to executive compensation matters.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted amendments to Regulation S-P which require investment adviser firms registered with the SEC to adopt written policies and procedures for incident response programs to address unauthorized access to or use of customer information including procedures for providing timely notification to customers affected by an incident involving sensitive customer information.
The Office of the Investor Advocate of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently released a report about the SEC staff’s study of mandatory arbitration clauses in investment advisory client agreements used by investment adviser firms registered with the SEC.
Just as a skilled surfer anticipates the perfect wave, an investment adviser firm’s seasoned executives and compliance professionals must prepare for the impending regulatory swell.
The Division of Examinations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently issued the Fiscal Year 2024 Examination Priorities signaling areas of particular interest for the upcoming audits of investment advisers. Notably, this year’s exam priorities introduces what appears to be a new focus on whether investment adviser firms are obtaining “informed consent” from clients when making material changes to advisory agreements:
