News & Events –

More than two years after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Department of Labor’s fiduciary duty rule, the agency proposed new regulations on investment advice for retirement accounts under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. Under the heading “Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees,” the DOL proposed a new “prohibited transaction class exemption” for investment adviser fiduciaries, reinstated the 1975 regulation and its five-part test for defining investment advice, and made certain changes to its pre-existing prohibited transaction class exemptions. Bates examines the details of the new DOL proposal.

As Managing Director for Bates Group's Retail Litigation practice, Julie Johnstone manages and oversees financial litigation and arbitration matters. Her team assists broker-dealer and investment advisers, banks and insurance companies, as well as State and Federal Regulators, throughout the life cycle of their retail litigation matters, from early case assessments, profit and loss reports, damage analyses, and “what if” scenarios, to expert consultation and testimony at hearing, as well as mediation and settlement support. We asked Julie to consider the state of retail litigation in light of the pandemic and to anticipate some of the long-term implications on case management and dispute resolution going forward.

In the past week, the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) warned financial institutions to guard against specific and increasingly prevalent types of fraud against consumers. These activities have been uncovered through examinations, suspicious activity reports (SARs), law enforcement information and public reporting. OCIE and FinCEN’s alerts follow other federal and state reports urging firms to increase vigilance against similar crisis-related misconduct.

Bates continues our practice leadership conversations this week with Alex Russell, Managing Director of Bates’ White Collar, Regulatory and Internal Investigations Practice. Alex’s team supports corporations, financial services firms, law firms and regulators by bringing technical, big data analytics and managerial expertise to a variety of disputes and investigations. We asked Alex about investigations, big data and other regulatory issues now and possibly on the horizon. Get the details in today's Bates Practice Leadership Insights.

FINRA issued Special Alert Notice 20-16 to share COVID-19-related off-site transition and supervisory practice information. The information was derived from recent FINRA discussions with small, mid-sized and large firms. Bates has been tracking and reporting on COVID-19-related guidance since the pandemic began. In this article, we take a closer look at FINRA’s observations on firm efforts to transition to remote work environments and to supervise remote work activities.

In its recently-released 2020 Investment Advisor Section Annual Report, NASAA highlights the growing concern by state regulators over cybersecurity preparation and practice. Based on firm examinations in 41 U.S. jurisdictions during the first half of 2019, NASAA found that cybersecurity deficiencies are on the rise. The issue has taken on new urgency in the wake of the pandemic. Bates takes a closer look in the full article.

Bates continues our practice leadership conversations this week with Edward Longridge, Managing Director of Bates Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Practice, for his views on the matters most pressing for AML officers right now, including coronavirus-related fraud, transaction monitoring, and third-party risk management. Here is a recap of our conversation.

The first part of this year has been challenging for the equity markets. In March, the S&P 500 Index plunged into bear market territory as volatility soared to historic levels. The sudden appearance of a severe global pandemic is just the most recent example of a “black swan event” roiling the markets. In this paper, Bates Director and expert Greg Kyle examines in detail bear markets, black swan events, and volatility to gain some perspective on how the recent—or current?—bear market compares with historical periods.

Concern about recommendations of complex financial products for retail investors has been at the center of the debate over changing standards for broker-dealers and investment advisers. With full implementation of the heightened Reg BI requirements less than a month away, FINRA issued a Notice reminding firms of their sales obligations when offering recommendations on complex oil-related ETPs. FINRA’s Notice provides an important case study not only as to the specific expectations of firms that trade oil-related ETPs, but also on how the self-regulator appears to be handling concerns about recommendations to retail clients of complex products in a volatile market. Bates takes a closer look in the full article, including what FINRA expects of firms and registered representatives.

State and federal regulators are pressing firms to increase vigilance against crisis-related misconduct and other vulnerabilities in order to protect investors. The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) recently took several public steps in response to COVID‑19 challenges, including forming a COVID-19 Enforcement Task Force that will identify and stop the latest potential threats to investors. Meanwhile, FINRA issued alerts detailing the most prevalent scams during the pandemic and the recommended practices for both investors and firms to combat them. Bates Research takes a closer look.

In this first of a series of conversations with Bates Group practice leaders, we caught up with Robert Lavigne, Managing Director and Bates Compliance Practice Leader, and Hank Sanchez, Esq., Bates Compliance Managing Director and former SEC and FINRA regulator, to get an understanding of what they are hearing from compliance officers right now, as well as advice for compliance teams in the "new normal."

At a time when regulators are emphasizing their understanding of, and flexibility concerning, the difficulties facing financial firms as a result of COVID-19, FinCEN and the umbrella Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) are demanding robust compliance with Bank Secrecy Act/ /Anti-Money laundering (BSA/AML) requirements. Since Bates’ last report, in which FinCEN highlighted warnings about bad actors finding opportunities created by the volatility and the fear in the markets, FinCEN issued additional compliance information to its previous alert, and FFIEC published a long- anticipated update to its BSA/AML Examination Manual. Bates Research has the details.

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to create unusual and difficult challenges for the financial service industry, FINRA continues to move forward with regulatory matters that warrant attention. In this article, Bates reviews recent FINRA developments on high-risk brokers, proposed limitations on brokers acting as beneficiaries, executors or trustees for senior investors, additional COVID-19-related hearing postponements, a recent arbitration proposal related to claims against inactive members and further remarks on Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI).

These are uncertain times for insurers. In a report issued on March 31, 2020, Congressional Research Service (“CRS”) staff noted the likelihood that “loss of income from mandatory or voluntary closures, supply chain disruptions, and reduced demand due to social distancing measures may induce businesses of all sizes to seek compensation from insurers.”

That was clearly an understatement. Now, market participants are sounding alarms about a wave of state and federal legislation that would shift onto insurers a significant portion of the burden to compensate businesses from the massive losses resulting from pandemic-related shutdowns. Bates takes a look at these legislative moves, early legal action taken by policyholders seeking coverage for business interruption losses as a consequence of the coronavirus (COVID-19), and the reaction by the insurance industry.  

Over the past few weeks the coronavirus pandemic has overtaken the nation’s financial agenda and diverted the attention of financial regulators who are struggling to keep up and address urgent market needs. These actions have left some firms curious as to whether the rollout of Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”) may be delayed. Well, the wait is over, and SEC Chair Clayton has weighed in. Meanwhile, FINRA has pushed forward amendments to its rules on suitability and non-cash compensation, and the SEC has filed a brief in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals arguing for rejection of state petitions for review of the Reg BI final rule. There is so much happening and many moving parts. Here’s what you need to know.

As regulators struggle to adjust to the stress that the coronavirus pandemic is placing on the markets, fraudsters are viewing it as an opportunity. Bates Research takes a look at the latest enforcement warnings and guidance from financial regulators, who are sounding alarms over the added threats that exist in the current volatile environment.