Core Compliance Blog

Every now and then, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) encounters a case that serves as a textbook example of everything that can go awry when a firm deems fraud more important that fiduciary responsibility.

Senior retail investors and cybersecurity. About the only thing they have in common is their presence on the list of examination priorities this year for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE).

A focus on the retail investor and cyber-related misconduct resulted in a record total of $4.3 billion in disgorgements and penalties ordered by the Securities Exchange Commission in 2019. Among the Commission’s 862 enforcement actions were a $100 million fine against Facebook for misuse of user...

Eric Clarke, chief executive officer for Orion Advisor Solutions (Orion), was interviewed for Financial Planning’s Lightning Round. In the interview, Clarke describes the greatest threat to independent advisors as changes occur in the regulatory landscape.

As the first filing deadline for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) new Form CRS is approaching on June 30, 2020, the SEC Division of Investment Management and Division of Trading and Markets have published a frequently asked questions document in response to inquiries they have...

Charles Schwab Corp. announced it has agreed to purchase TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. for $26 billion in an all-stock transaction, combining two of the largest custody service providers to independent financial advisers.

After the merger, the combined firm will have assets in excess of $5...

On October 16, 2019, The Securities and Exchange Commission filed an emergency action and obtained an asset freeze against 18 traders in a multiyear scheme to manipulate more than 3,900 U.S.-listed securities that resulted in more than $31 million in illicit profits.

Compliance officers at investment advisory firms which serve retail clients will soon be impacted by the newly required relationship summary in Form ADV Part 3 (Form CRS).

On October 11, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced it had filed an emergency action against two offshore entities for conducting an alleged unregistered and ongoing digital token offering in the U.S. and overseas that has raised more than $1.7 billion in investor funds.

Over the past several years, The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has brought hundreds of enforcement actions over violations of federal securities involving over-the-counter (OTC) securities, resulting in tens of millions in harm to retail investors. In an effort to increase retail...