Core Compliance Blog

In June 2010, the SEC adopted the Rule 206(4)-5 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, which addressed “pay-to-play” practices surrounding political contributions.  Pay to play is a term used in the financial industry that generally refers to investment advisers making campaign contributions to...

Examination Priorities

Each year the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations publishes their SEC examination priorities letter to inform the industry of their current focus areas.  The 2017 letter was released on January 12, 2017, and is available on the SEC’s website.  The letter...

On December 27, 2016, the Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged Emilio Francisco with defrauding investors seeking to participate in the EB-5 immigrant investor program. The EB-5 program, which is administered by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”), allows foreign...

According to Robert W. Cook, since becoming the president and CEO of FINRA in August 2017, he has “been engaged in an ongoing ‘listening tour’ meeting with member firms, regulators and investor groups, among others.”  In the cover letter he issued announcing the release of FINRA’s 2017 Regulatory...

2016 is speeding to a close, so to assist advisory firms in preparing for year-end compliance requirements, along with certain upcoming regulations, CCLS recently published a Risk Management Update (“RMU”) that contains a year-end compliance checklist.  While it’s not all inclusive, the checklist...

Criminal activity is constantly evolving.  Fraud emanating from a compromised email account is fairly well known and most firms have implemented authentication procedures to address fraudulent third-party wire transfers.  However, another threat has recently gained traction in the financial...

On November 14, 2016, Mary Jo White, SEC Chair, announced her plans to step down at the end of the Obama Administration. During her tenure, the SEC brought more than 2,850 enforcement actions and obtained judgements and orders that tallied more than $13.4 billion in monetary sanctions. Although...

On October 27, 2016, the DOL issued highly anticipated guidance on the Conflicts of Interest Rule in the form of FAQs that address the exemptions.  The Director of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”), Phyllis Borzi, indicated this is the first of three sets of FAQs and the second...

Recently, the London-based public accounting firm Ernst & Young, along with a senior partner and an auditor agreed to pay approximately $9.3 million in settlement charges after SEC investigations determined that there had been violations of auditor independence rules.  According to the news release...

On August 25, 2016, the SEC issued press release 2016-167 detailing the results of an enforcement sweep leading to settlements with thirteen investment advisers for advertising a third-party’s false performance claims.