Category Archives: Enforcement

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

November 10, 2021 Clifford E. Kirsch, Editor Leave a comment

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.

Compliance, Enforcement, Regulatory, Standard of Care

Mississippi Sends IARS Back to School; IARD And CRD Renewal Season Starts; Regulators Provide Tips On Vendor Due Diligence, And Scary Stories From SEC On Conflicts Of Interest

October 14, 2021 Cari Hopfensperger Leave a comment

October Regulatory Updates from Cari Hopsfenperger at Foreside.

Topics include:

Mississippi Adopts Model Rule for investment advisor representative (IAR) Continuing Education
Mark Your Calendars: The IARD and CRD Renewal Programs Have Begun; Renewal Payments Due December 13, 2021: To get detailed information about the 2022 Annual Renewal Programs, including the complete timeline, payment methods, helpful tips, and FAQs, click the following links:
FINRA Annual Renewal Overview

IARD Renewal Program Overview
Required Reading: FINRA’s and NFA Notices on Vendor Oversight and Due Diligence
The SEC Finds Advisors Response to Phishing Attacks, a Day Late and a Dollar Short
Advisor Experiences the Horror of Failure to Supervise Remote IARs
Firm Principals Pay the Price for Riskless Principal Trades
New Technology but Same Old Conflicts
“Keeping it in the Family” is a Bad Compliance Strategy
The First of Many Cases on Breach of Duty – IAR Fined and Suspended, and RIA is Punished for Failing to Perform Suitability Analysis

SEC SCHOOLS ADVISORS ON BEST INTEREST OBLIGATIONS; “TO DO” LIST FOR FIXED INCOME PRINCIPAL AND CROSS TRADES; COMPLEX PRODUCT AND FORM CRS FAILS

September 10, 2021 Cari Hopfensperger Leave a comment

September Regulatory Updates from Cari Hopsfenperger at Foreside.

Topics include:

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

September 9, 2021 Clifford E. Kirsch, Editor Leave a comment

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.

Compliance, Enforcement, Standard of Care

SEC Sanctions Robo Adviser for Inadequate Conflicts Disclosures, Failure to Consider Tax Impact of Proprietary ETFs

August 25, 2021 Lauren C. Jackson Leave a comment

Not long after we released our recent alert titled SEC Continues Focus on Conflicts Disclosures in Enforcement Actions Totaling $106 Million in Fines and Disgorgement, the SEC entered into another consent order (the “Order”) with an internet-based registered investment adviser (“Robo Adviser”) that sanctioned the adviser for failing to provide full and fair disclosure regarding conflicts of interest relating to proprietary products, and for failing to consider tax consequences associated with trades made within an automated advisory program.[i] This Order serves as another example of the SEC’s continuing focus on the importance of firms identifying, and then accurately disclosing, actual or potential conflicts of interest and how those conflicts could impact clients.