Today, the United States Supreme Court sent shock waves through the securities industry as well as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) enforcement program when it held that SEC administrative law judges (“ALJ”) are “inferior officers,” and must be chosen pursuant to the appointments clause of the United States Constitution. That is, the
In rapid succession, the SEC has issued warnings and announced sanctions against registered investment advisers for fee and expense practices, false statements regarding assets under management, and misleading performance data. No one should be surprised that the SEC is actively seeking to uncover transgressions in the RIA field.
Initially, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections
In a recent speech, new SEC Chairman Jay Clayton warned lawyers, who advice clients on bitcoins and initial coin offerings (“ICOs”), to be aware the SEC is lurking out there waiting to pounce. Of course, he did not say it exactly like that, but he might as well have used those exact words.
Clayton stated
The SEC recently upheld a statutory disqualification that FINRA imposed where the representative filed a false U-4 and falsely answered compliance questionnaires. It appears as though the registered representative failed to disclose tax liens and a bankruptcy on his U-4. So is statutory disqualification the proper punishment for this misdeed.
According to FINRA and
The SEC recently announced an enforcement initiative that will target retail investor harm. The agency’s task force will use data analytics to find widespread problems regarding fee disclosures and unsuitable investment recommendations. In addition to data analytics, the SEC will rely upon tips, complaints and referrals that come into the SEC.
This heightened analysis of
It is almost axiomatic that the SEC “enjoys” bringing enforcement actions against lawyers. The SEC believes that lawyers have a special duty to protect and police the securities markets, and, when a lawyer fails, the SEC is right there to pounce.
In fact, the SEC fined and barred an attorney from practicing before the Commission
Despite numerous warnings, some people just do not get it. The SEC barred a broker from the industry because the broker used personal email and text messages to obtain client investments. See the Commission’s website.
The SEC found these personal communications were never submitted to the firm for review. As a result, the broker
The Supreme Court recently ruled that a five year statute of limitations applies to when the SEC seeks disgorgement. To learn more, read this alert.
The SEC recently announced that it charged a former broker with knowingly or recklessly trading unsuitable investment products for five customers and taking $170,000 for one of those customers. These charges follow a prior SEC Investor Alert warning about excessive trading and churning as well as another one focused on the risks associated with exchange-traded
The SEC has recently issued an Investor Alert regarding commentary provided about investors from what appear to be independent sources. It turns out, many of those independent sources are not independent at all. Instead, they are paid shills.
The SEC has instituted enforcement actions against such companies for generating deceptive articles on investment websites.