In April 2020, one of the most-watched television shows was the beginning episodes of ESPN’s “The Last Dance,” a 10-part documentary chronicling Michael Jordan and the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls. The documentary explores the ups and downs of the Bulls during Jordan’s last year as a Bull, and their successful attempt at a second three-peat. While the show doesn’t address securities enforcement cases directly (or, frankly, at all), it does provide a lot of lessons that compliance officers and others can think about as they are sitting at home during the age of coronavirus assessing enforcement actions and how they may impact their firms. Like so much in life, if you watch this series in just the right way, you’ll learn more than you would have expected.
Monthly Archives: June 2020
Strict Liability Has No Place In ‘Should Have Known’ Case
In a May 21, brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Thaddeus North v. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC turned “should have known” liability into a strict liability standard.[1] The D.C. Circuit should not apply this interpretation.
Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and March 2020 Enforcement Matters
During March 2020, one of the most streamed shows was Tiger King, a documentary about “Joe Exotic” a/k/a Joseph Allen Schreibvogel a/k/a Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, a “zoo owner [who] spirals out of control amid a cast of eccentric characters in this true murder-for-hire story from the underworld of big cat breeding:’1 Thus, Tiger King has much in common with the securities enforcement matters from March: fraud, broken rules, sanctions, and (arguably) eccentric characters. One big difference, of course, is that last month’s enforcement matters did not involve cat breeding, big or small. (We can’t make any promises about April’s enforcement actions.) Thus, the March enforcement matters present important lessons for broker-dealers and investment advisers (as well as important lessons for zoo owners, assuming that the zoo is an outside business activity).
Back to Office Guidance
From our friends at Hardin Compliance Consulting LLC, helpful guidance for broker dealers and RIAs, as they plan their return:
- Question & Answer Employer Guide: Return to the Work in the time of COVID-19 by Faegre Drinker.
- Making your Office Safe to Return after COVID-19 by Riia O’Donnell of Workest.
- Preparing for Reentry in the US by Goodwin Procter LLP.
- Reopening Your Doors – BakerHostetler’s Return to Work Toolkit
NJ Joins Other States to Protect Seniors, NASAA Warns Smaller Advisers about Cybersecurity Risks, SEC Settles Valuation, and Fund Expense & Wrap Fee Actions
June Regulatory Updates from Cari Hopsfenperger at Hardin Compliance Consulting LLC.
Topics include:
- New Jersey Adopts Its Own Senior Safe Legislation
- NASAA 2020 Investment Adviser Section Annual Report
- Notice to Members I-20-20: Coronavirus Update – Relief from Fingerprinting Requirements
- Notice to Members I-20-18: Amendments to NFA Compliance Rule 2-29 and Related Interpretive Notice Now Effective
- Broker-Dealer Recruiting Tactics Lead to Reg S-P Violations
- “May” I? No, You “May” Not! SEC Settles with Private Equity Adviser with Conflicted Expense Reimbursements
- Whoops! I Did It Again! Adviser Fails to Learn from Mistakes, Blows up Fund
- Five Million Reasons Why Wrap Fee Transparency is Important
- Mutual Fund Manager Misprices Odd Lot Bonds, Overstates NAV and Related Performance