Blog
DOL Issues FAQ’s on New Fiduciary Rule Explaining, Inter Alia, Acceptable Compensation
The U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued the first FAQ’s on its new rule requiring advisers giving advice on ERISA and similar plans to act as fiduciaries for the investors and in the best interest of investors rather than the firms for which they work. See FAQs, here. The new fiduciary rules are not scheduled to go... Read more »
SEC Approves Intrastate Offerings and Increasing the Rule 504 Cap
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) approved, on October 26, 2016, amendments to its Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) Rule 147 and the creation of Rule 147A, amendments to its Rule 504, and the repeal of the limited use Rule 505. See press release, here. The final rules apparently largely follow the... Read more »
SEC Issues Risk Warning on Whistleblowing
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issued a Risk Alert on October 24, 2016, regarding the staff’s examination of broker-dealers for compliance with the Dodd-Frank whistleblower provisions. The warning notes that the staff will review compliance manuals, codes of ethics, employment agreements and severance agreements, among others, to see whether... Read more »
SEC Proposes Reducing Settlement by One Day to T+2
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) has proposed to amend its Rule 15c6-1(a) to require broker-dealers to settle most non-exempt securities in T+2 instead of T+3, although shorter settlement is possible. See proposal, here. Comments are due by December 5, 2016. There seems to be little opposition to the basic shortening, which comes some... Read more »