Lately, we are receiving many inquiries relating to ERISA fiduciary considerations. Section 3(21)(A) of ERISA defines a “fiduciary” to a plan as persons who fall into any one of the three categories, whether or not they entered into a formal … Read More
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”), which was signed into law by President Obama on April 5, 2012, ushers in significant changes to many of the federal securities laws. In addition to lowering the costs associated with … Read More
FINRA’s new Know Your Customer and Suitability rules give rise to certain additional obligations that will require broker-dealer firms to revisit their internal controls and educate their staff on the new requirements. The rules, which were initially announced in this … Read More
On January 18, 2012, the staff of the Investment Management Division of the SEC issued a No-Action Letter (the “ABA Letter”) providing relief from registration for certain advisers that are affiliated with a registered adviser, subject to certain conditions. Significantly, … Read More
As reported in this prior post, efforts to eliminate the prohibition on general advertising and solicitation in Rule 506 of Regulation D have recently gained momentum at the federal level. The states appear to be following suit by proposing new … Read More
Pursuant to Rule 17a-5(d) under the Exchange Act, all SEC-registered broker-dealers must submit annual audit reports to the SEC and the firm’s designated examining authority (such as FINRA) no more than 60 days after its fiscal year-end. Accordingly, firms with … Read More
On February 8, 2012, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) issued final regulations that repeal the exemption from registration as a commodity pool operator (“CPO”) set forth in CFTC Regulation 4.13(a)(4), which is widely used by operators of private funds … Read More