All posts by Clifford E. Kirsch, Editor

Eversheds Sutherland With more than 25 years of experience, Cliff regularly counsels clients on the design and distribution of investment products including wrap-fee programs and other advisory products, mutual funds, bank collective investment funds and insurance products. He also focuses on issues related to the design and implementation of compliance programs at financial services firms.

A Goldfish is the Happiest Animal, A Securities Respondent is Not: Ted Lasso, SEC, FINRA, and DOL Enforcement Actions (October 2021)

From Brian Rubin and Ariana Cheng in this month’s column for NSCP Currents:

During the pandemic, we have had a lot of lows, as well as a few highs. And that’s just in pop culture. For example, who could forget the Tiger King? And the Queen’s Gambit?  We’ve had heroes and villains and everything in between. And we’ve had a streaming show starring a knight in shining armor – well, a big mustache, an even bigger heart, and strong Southern accent – providing us with heroes, rules to live by, homespun humor and rules subject to interpretation (see, e.g., “offsides”). No, we’re not talking about securities enforcement and compliance.  We’re talking about Ted Lasso, the irrepressible former football coach of the Wichita (Kansas) State Shockers, who ends up coaching the other futbol (a/k/a soccer) for AFC Richmond in England’s Premier League.

Not surprisingly, to anyone who has read our prior compliance and enforcement columns, this month’s NSCP Currents article is inspired by the ever positive, glass-always-half-full Ted Lasso to provide lessons for securities professionals, as well as lessons for the rest of use on how to live better lives. Or, as Ted would say (and, in fact, did say), “the harder you work, the luckier you get.”

Read more here.

Shaken, Stirred and Sanctioned: SEC, FINRA and 007 Enforcement Actions

If you think about it (through, say, X-ray sunglasses), James Bond movies are like securities enforcement actions: good guys, bad guys, government agencies, self-regulators (of sorts), rules, compliance officers (sometimes referred to as Dr. No), technology, money, and opening credits music. (Well, maybe not the latter.)

In this month’s enforcement update in NSCP Currents, starring Bond, James Bond, 007, British secret service agent and the hero of multiple books and 25 movies, Brian Rubin and Bria Adams review SEC and FINRA enforcement actions brought in August and September.

You Can’t Handle the Truth: A Few Good Enforcement Actions from the SEC and FINRA in July 2021

From Brian Rubin and Amanda Oliveira in this month’s column for NSCP Currents:

As this year marks the 30th anniversary of the filming of the movie A Few Good Men, we thought it would make sense to revisit that film, which involved “honor, code, loyalty,” trials, good guys, bad guys, and moral ambiguity. In other words, it involved most of the elements we regularly see in SEC and FINRA enforcement cases. And it involved one of the most iconic speeches ever to appear in a movie.  (For those who haven’t seen the movie, the speech involved handling—or the inability to handle—the “truth.”)

Can you handle the truth about the SEC and FINRA enforcement actions brought in July 2021. . . Read more here.

Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Enforcement Actions: SEC and FINRA Enforcement from June 2021

From Brian Rubin and Sarah Sallis in this month’s column for NSCP Currents:

Forty years ago, in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the world was introduced to Indiana Jones, who hunted for the Lost Ark of the Covenant, while chasing and being chased by Nazis. While Raiders and the other Indy movies were not about investments (as that word is used in common parlance), the first movie did involve extremely valuable gold in its opening sequence, in the form of the fictitious Golden Idol. In addition to treasures, the Indiana Jones movies also concerned good v. bad, fighting, adventure, snakes, and some humor.  In other words, in many respects, they are similar to enforcement actions (other than the snakes) (although we do know some people who might be considered snakes).

Read more here.

Inconceivable: The Princess Bride Fences with SEC and FINRA Enforcement Matters from May 2021

From Brian Rubin and Jessica Rodgers in this month’s column for NSCP Currents:

This year marks the 35th Anniversary of the classic movie, The Princess Bride. According to the movie, the story is about:

Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Revenge. Giants. Monsters. Chases. Escapes. True love. Miracles. 

In other words, many of the elements we regularly see in enforcement actions. “Inconceivable” as it may sound, we can make a case for all of them, with the possible exception of “True love.” (Although, let’s be honest, who among us doesn’t love a cleverly drafted legal argument or a well-written Form ADV?)

Read more here.  As you wish. . . .