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02-22-17

Don’t Let Your Guard Down:  State and Federal Rulemakers Move Forward on Cyber Security

The changing of the guard in Washington has not slowed down cyber security regulators at the national or state level. Over the last several weeks, longstanding efforts have continued apace. The New York State Department of Financial Services published final cyber security regulations mandating standards for banks and insurers. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology proposed updates to its 2014 Framework for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, and the White House itself prepared – and then postponed temporarily – a proposed new Executive Order. 

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02-08-17

The Beginning of the End of the Fiduciary Duty Rule?

In one of his first acts in office, Donald J. Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum on the DOL Fiduciary Duty Rule. The President directed the Department of Labor to examine the Rule to determine whether it may “adversely affect the ability of Americans to gain access to retirement information and financial advice.” 

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01-26-17

Markets 2016: A Look Back

For many investors, 2016 was a roller coaster ride in the equity markets. The year started off on a surprisingly low note, with the broader market experiencing the worst opening week in history. The S&P 500 Index fell 6% in the first five days of trading, and by mid-February, the equity index had fallen 15%. However, the S&P 500 Index did manage to finish the year up 10%, despite the uncertainty created by ...

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01-18-17

SEC 2017 Priorities: Increased Scrutiny of Advisers Announced

The SEC has released its examination priorities for 2017, which contain a continuation of many priorities from last year, as well as some new areas of focus.  Just as we did last week when we covered FINRA’s 2017 priorities, this week we will concentrate largely on new SEC initiatives, with some attention to those initiatives which are continuations of earlier priorities.

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01-10-17

FINRA 2017 Priorities: Regulator Moves Away From “Culture Of Compliance”

Last week FINRA released its Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter for 2017.  The letter outlined fewer priorities than in previous years, and it gives a more tangible set of marching orders than firms have received in at least two years.  We will examine the major themes of some of these changes below, rather than focusing on those aspects of the letter that are continuations of previous enforcement agendas.

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12-14-16

Personal Liability for Compliance Professionals III

This is the final installment in a three-part series discussing personal liability for compliance professionals. This week we will take a look at the impact this is having on the industry and the steps some CCOs are taking to minimize their personal liability.

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12-07-16

Personal Liability for Compliance Professionals II

This is the second installment in a three-part series discussing personal liability for compliance professionals. This week we will take a look at regulators’ perceptions of their enforcement activity and what this trend might mean for compliance professionals moving forward.

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11-30-16

Personal Liability for Compliance Professionals

This is the first installment in a three-part series discussing personal liability for compliance professionals. This week we will look at the growing trend of regulatory enforcement activity against compliance professionals and the perception within the compliance industry of increased personal risk. 

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11-16-16

How Will The Trump Administration Address Securities Regulation?

President elect Donald Trump has promised to overhaul all aspects of Federal regulation within the United States, and as a result there has been a great deal of speculation as to what that might mean for securities regulation, oversight, and especially enforcement for the next four years.

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10-26-16

FINRA Issues Proposed Rule To Protect Senior Investors

Last week we focused on the important topic of elder and diminished capacity investors through a Q&A with elder investor expert Joe Thomas. Our timing couldn’t have been better, because FINRA announced (on the same morning our post went live) that it has sent a proposed new rule and rule amendments to the SEC that would allow for better protection of senior investors.   

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