Tag: SEC

While in-person participation is an important part of the financial system regulated by the SEC, the virus is forcing market makers to significantly adjust their operations.

As the SEC’s June 30 Regulation Best Interest deadline nears without hope of a grace period, sources say many financial services firms aren’t ready to comply.

The new rule permits variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts to use a summary prospectus to provide disclosures to investors.

As the enforcement date approaches for the sweeping Regulation Best Interest rulemaking package, FINRA is working hand-in-hand with the SEC to ensure effective coordination—and to support advisers working on associated compliance challenges.

The SEC says the firm disadvantaged certain retirement plan customers by failing to provide them with less expensive share classes for which they were eligible.

Critics of the Massachusetts fiduciary rule say it will interfere with the implementation of the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest; proponents say that’s exactly the point.

The SEC tackles this question and others in a new FAQ publication about the Regulation Best Interest rulemaking package, as does Morningstar in a new paper that examines the regulation’s impact on specific business models.

In addition to the ambitious Regulation Best Interest package, the securities and market regulator is making significant changes to the proxy voting landscape and its rules for adviser advertising.

According to the SEC, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s share class calculator had two operating errors that caused it not to provide the most beneficial share class to eligible customers; the firm was also accused of not consistently providing this benefit to certain eligible clients.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC)’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations found some concerns related to money market funds and target-date funds.

As one source points out, the SEC’s advertising rules have not been substantively amended since 1961, long before social media and the dominance of the Internet—even before fax machines.

Both the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission are revisiting their proxy voting rules, creating an opportunity for greater regulatory alignment.

Advisory firms waiting to see whether the 2nd Circuit will delay or outright halt the implementation of the SEC's Regulation Best Interest are wasting precious time.

It is well-established that clauses containing a specific statutory grant of jurisdiction to the court of appeals should be construed in favor of review by the court of appeals.

The rule blurs the line between advice and sales, potentially hurting both advisers and investors, he says.