Emoji Enforcement: Surely you can’t be serious

From Brian Rubin in NSCP Currents: 

During this year’s annual FINRA conference, a panel of officials announced that in connection with retaining and supervising electronic messages, firms might have to begin reviewing emojis to determine whether they constitute reportable customer complaints.

FINRA’s proclamation appears to be problematic for firms. First, FINRA didn’t announce whether technology exists to find, let alone, translate emojis.  Second, emojis are constantly being added.  Finally, the meaning of emojis depends on context and the “space-time continuum,” including the generation bracket of the sender and recipient.  For example, the thumbs up emoji 👍used to mean, “good job,” but for Gen Z-ers, it’s more of an insult about something you botched, rather than a positive sign, and sometimes it means, “sure, whatever” in response to something you’ve said.  Without industry consultation about these issues, it’s easy to predict what will happen next: 😡.

Read more here.

Costly 13F Filing Violations, ChatGPT Policy Considerations, Insight Into New Fiduciary Rule Proposal: Lessons Learned & Worth Reading for March 2023

ACA Group’s Lessons Learned and thought leadership:

Additional thought leadership and Insights can be found here.

Shortened Settlement Cycles, Form ADV Amendments and Hackers Impact Derivatives Market: Regulatory Update for March 2023

March Regulatory Updates from Cari Hopfensperger at ACA Group:

Plus, To Do Checklists for March and April 2023, and more here.

SEC’s amendments to Rule 10b5-1 and new state privacy laws — ACA Regulatory Updates

February Regulatory Updates from Cari Hopfensperger at ACA Group:

Topics include:

  • News for All Firms
    • SEC Amends Rule 10b5-1 Restricting Insider Trading
    • State Privacy “Class of 2023” – Several New Privacy Laws Taking Effect
  • News for Investment Advisers
    • 10 States Now Require IARs to Complete Annual Continuing Education
    • Form 13F Amendments to Make Data More Usable Take Effect
  • News for CPOs/CTAs
    • NFA Reminds Members to Confirm Exemption Status of Entities They Do Business With
  •  Lessons Learned
    • SEC Fines Service Provider $5 Million for Securities Fraud: Service Providers Beware!
    • I’m Ready for My Close-Up: Former PM Leverages Investment to Get His Daughter in the Movies
    • Adviser Keeps Revenue Sharing on the Down Low – and Gets SEC Smackdown

Read more here.

Fiduciary Duties and ESG — Is it really Everything, Everywhere All at Once?

SEC 40 Act lawyers and those in the ESG space will want to take note of Commissioner Uyeda’s speech published on Jan 27 (SEC.gov | ESG: Everything Everywhere All at Once) in which he lays out an adviser’s fiduciary duty as a battleground for future discussion about ESG investments.  Uyeda says “… an adviser can only pursue an ESG investment strategy if the client expresses a desire to pursue such a strategy after receiving full and fair disclosure regarding the salient features of the strategy, including the strategy’s risk and return profile.” It will be interesting to see if Chair Gensler looks for an opportunity to respond to Uyeda’s remarks.  Don’t be surprised if we see remarks by Chair Gensler that address an adviser’s duty more generally and not just in connection with established an ESG investment strategy. Maybe something along the lines of yes, an adviser can only pursue an ESG investment strategy where a client expresses such a desire, but as a general matter all advisers should be at least considering ESG factors as they do other important data points when making an investment.  Lots more to come……