Category Archives: Uncategorized

On December 1, 2020, New York Attorney General James announced rules that will require the licensing of investment adviser representatives (“IARs”) in New York. IARs will be required to register through the Central Registration Depository/Investment Adviser Registration Depository. If you render investment advice from a place of business in New York, now is the timeContinue reading “New York Investment Adviser Representatives to Become Subject to Licensing (Finally)”

I applaud the North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”) for proposing a model rule to assist state securities regulators in implementing a mandatory continuing education program for investment adviser representatives (“IAR”) in their jurisdiction. These efforts are long overdue to convince the public that the rendering of financial advice is a legitimate profession. A copyContinue reading “NASAA Proposes Model Rule for Continuing Education With A Number of Shortcomings”

On Monday, OCIE released a Risk Alert focused on their recent observations from focused examinations of investment advisers that operate out of multiple locations or branch offices. I provided a summary of that guidance here. So what does this mean for investment advisers who operate multiple offices or branch offices? Advisers should review their policies andContinue reading “Branch Office Supervision in Light of OCIE Guidance”

Today, OCIE released a Risk Alert focused on their recent observations from focused examinations of investment advisers that operate out of multiple locations or branch offices. These examinations focused on whether the examined investment advisers had adopted and implemented reasonably designed written policies and procedures and implemented investment advice in an appropriate manner. As aContinue reading “Risk Alert Following OCIE Examinations on Branch Offices”

On October 26, 2020, the Wyoming Division of Banking issued “no-action” relief to Two Ocean Trust stating that i) Two Ocean is permitted to provide custodial services for both digital and traditional assets under Wyoming law, and (ii) that Two Oceancan refer to itself as a “qualified custodian” as that term is defined under the InvestmentContinue reading “SEC Should Provide Clear Guidance Following Two Ocean Crypto Banking Relief”

As of October 1, 2020, out of 13,810 investment advisers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), more than 200 reported being actively engaged in the business of being an accountant or accounting firm. Almost a 1,000 reported an affiliation with an accountant or accounting firm. Another 28 reported being actively engaged inContinue reading “A Growing Trend for RIAs – Become a One-Stop Shop”

Recently, I wrote a post that investment advisers and broker-dealers should review their Form CRS in light of new guidance on the disciplinary history section (Review your Form CRS Disciplinary History Disclosure in Light of New Guidance). As that post addressed, earlier in the month, Commissioner Clayton and Directors Blass and Redfearn put forth a Joint StatementContinue reading “Recent “Guidance” on Form CRS Disciplinary History Is Bad “Law””

As an attorney in the investment management space, I have seen the use of Morningstar presentations create issues for investment advisers at an increasing rate during examinations conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commissions (“SEC”) Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”). The issues that I have seen typically revolve around the use of hypotheticalContinue reading “Morningstar Presentations Present Issues for Investment Advisers”

Form U4 requests information about various criminal, regulatory, financial, and litigation matters. While many of these disclosures are relevant and important to clients and prospective clients, others are less important. For example, I have seen countless college incidents. Some involve taxi rides, fake IDs, alcohol, or marijuana. This article is intended to help those whoContinue reading “Expungement of Criminal Disclosure on Forms U4, Form U5, and IAPD/Brokercheck”