Today, the Department of Labor (DoL) published a rule delay for the fiduciary rule, delaying its applicability date by 60 days. The initial applicability date of the fiduciary rule was April 10, 2017. The 60 day delay moves the applicability date to June 9, 2017. This action also extends (for 60 days) the applicability dates of the Best Interest Contract Exemption and the Class Exemption for Principal Transactions in Certain Assets Between Investment Advice Fiduciaries and Employee Benefit Plans and IRAs.
SEC Enforcement Action: Investment Adviser Fails to Disclose Affiliate Broker-Dealer Conflicts of Interest
March 14, 2017
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an enforcement action recently against an investment adviser firm for its alleged failure to disclose fee sharing arrangements that the investment adviser firm entered with its third-party broker dealer. The investment adviser firm consented to the order without admitting or denying the SEC findings, except as specified within the SEC’s Order. Click here to read the full SEC Order Instituting Administrative and Cease-And-Desist Proceedings.
Inadvertent Custody – SEC Guidance Update
March 07, 2017
In February 2017, the Division of Investment Management of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a Guidance Update “Inadvertent Custody: Advisory Contract Versus Custodial Contract Authority.” In this Guidance Update, the SEC explained that an investment adviser may have custody of client funds or securities because of provisions in a custodial agreement entered into by the investment advisory client and a qualified custodian.
SEC Guidance: Robo-Advisers and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940
February 27, 2017
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently issued new guidance for investment adviser firms and individual investors considering the use of robo-advisers. Robo-advisers are becoming increasingly popular among investment adviser firms and clients alike, due to their ability to provide targeted investment advice for a lower investment advisory fee, which increases the accessibility of professional investment advice for frugal investors or investors whose account balances may not meet an investment adviser firm’s required minimum account balance. Robo-advisers are not suitable for every client, however, leading the SEC to issue guidance for investment adviser firms seeking to utilize this new technology.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a press release announcing that an investment adviser, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, agreed to pay an $8 million penalty to settle charges under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 relating to single inverse ETF investments it had recommended to investment advisory clients. Click here to for the entire press release and here for the SEC’s order.
A former investment adviser firm and its principal recently settled claims by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), admitting that the investment adviser firm principal cherry picked profitable trades for a select number of favored friends, clients, and family members of the firm’s principal.
Additions to RIA Compliance Consultants’ Sample Forms Library
January 17, 2017
RIA Compliance Consultants added four new Sample Forms to our Sample Forms Library. The new Sample Forms are:
FINRA Fines Firms for Deficiencies in Cybersecurity and Recordkeeping
December 29, 2016
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) recently announced fines against 12 broker-dealers for alleged deficiencies related to their cybersecurity and record retention practices. In each case, the firms – who have consented to the fine without admitting or denying the charges – allegedly failed to properly store electronic records in a “write once read many” format that is meant to protect records from illicit alteration. The “write once read many” format is required by FINRA rules and protects broker-dealers against malicious interference with their vital business records, whether by outside hackers or disgruntled insiders.
Updates to Cybersecurity Identity Theft Best Practices Checklist
November 29, 2016
RIA Compliance Consultants updated it Cybersecurity Identity Theft Best Practices checklist in light of the U.S. Department of Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) Advisory to Financial Institutions on Cyber-Events and Cyber-Enabled Crime. On October 25, 2016, FinCEN issued an advisory on reporting requirements for cyber-events. FinCEN issued the advisory because,
SEC Enforcement Action Alleges Cherry-Picking, Double-Dipping, and Fund Mismanagement
October 25, 2016
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) recently instituted administrative cease-and-desist proceedings against a Washington-based registered investment adviser. The SEC alleges the investment adviser engaged in several schemes meant to defraud clients and unjustly enrich the investment adviser’s personal accounts. Among the alleged wrongdoing was the investment adviser’s scheme to “cherry pick” favorable trades for his personal accounts while allocating unfavorable trades to client accounts. During one relevant period, the SEC claims the investment adviser’s accounts showed a return of 1.39% while the affected client accounts had a -0.78% return. In total, the SEC asserts that the investment advisor profited almost $500,000 while client accounts suffered losses of more than $2 million.
