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Category Archives: Compliance

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SEC Staff Issues Risk Alert on the Six Most Frequent Fee and Expense Compliance Issues

By Robert E. Plaze, Joshua M. Newville, Robert Leonard and Anthony Drenzek on Posted in Compliance, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
On April 12, 2018, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issued a risk alert listing the most common compliance issues concerning fees and expenses charged by SEC-registered investment advisers.  Advisers should review their practices, policies and procedures to ensure compliance with their advisory agreements and representations to clients in light of the fee … Continue Reading

Proskauer Adds Former SEC Enforcement Counsel, Samuel Waldon, As Partner Strengthening Its Securities Litigation Offering

By Timothy W. Mungovan on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Examinations, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Credit, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital, Whistleblower
We are pleased to announce that partner Samuel Waldon has joined Proskauer’s Litigation Department in DC, enhancing the Firm’s securities litigation and regulatory enforcement practices.  Among his other areas of focus, Sam will bolster the firm’s Asset Management Litigation team. “In today’s ever evolving regulatory landscape, Sam’s extensive experience at the SEC and his deep … Continue Reading

SEC Announces 2018 Compliance Outreach Program Seminar for Investment Advisers and Investment Companies

By Anthony Drenzek on Posted in Compliance, OCIE, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
On Tuesday, February 13th, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the opening of registration for its 2018 national compliance outreach seminar for investment companies and investment advisers. The event is intended to help Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) and other senior personnel at investment companies and investment advisory firms to enhance their compliance programs. … Continue Reading

The Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for Private Funds in 2018

By Timothy W. Mungovan, Joshua M. Newville, Michael R. Hackett, Anthony Drenzek, William Dalsen, Alexandra V. Bargoot, Brian Hooven and Lucy Wolf on Posted in Business Development Companies, Compliance, Disputes, Examinations, Hedge Funds, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Credit, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
With the public equity markets at an all-time high and private equity fund raising setting new records, it might seem counterintuitive to forecast litigation and regulatory risks.  The opposite is true.  Disputes typically follow capital, and the steeper the growth curve, the greater the risk of litigation and regulatory scrutiny.  With that backdrop, we are … Continue Reading

Five Things to Think About Before a Surprise SEC Exam

By Joshua M. Newville, Robert E. Plaze, Christopher Wells and Alexandra V. Bargoot on Posted in Compliance, Examinations, Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Regulation, SEC
If a team from the SEC arrives at your office and says, “We are conducting an on-site examination and would like to talk to the CCO right now,” are you prepared? A handful of registered investment advisers have faced surprise SEC exams in recent months. These exams come in two flavors: either a “for cause” … Continue Reading

Proskauer Private Investment Funds Group Releases Annual Review and Outlook

By Anthony Drenzek and Michael R. Hackett on Posted in Compliance, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
Proskauer’s Private Investment Funds Group recently released its 2017 Annual Review and Outlook for Hedge Funds, Private Equity Funds and Other Private Funds.  This yearly publication provides a summary of some of the significant changes and developments that occurred in the past year in the private equity and hedge funds space, as well as certain … Continue Reading

SEC Releases FY 2017 Enforcement Results: Maintaining Focus on Individual Accountability and Investment Advisers

By Joshua M. Newville, Michael R. Hackett, Anthony Drenzek and Alexandra V. Bargoot on Posted in Compliance, Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
Last night, the SEC announced its enforcement results for the Fiscal Year 2017, accompanied by a report from the Co-Directors of its Division of Enforcement.  While the total number of actions was down slightly from 2016, the percentage of those cases involving investment advisers or investment companies – 18% – remained consistent, and amounted to … Continue Reading

U.S. House Bill Aims to Curtail SEC Staff’s Ability to Obtain Algorithmic Trading Source Code

By Christopher Wells, Robert Leonard, Michael Mavrides, Joshua M. Newville, Anthony Drenzek and Lucy Wolf on Posted in Compliance, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
On October 4, 2017, U.S. Representative Sean P. Duffy [R-WI-7] introduced U.S. House of Representatives Bill H.R.3948 entitled the “Protection of Source Code Act.” If enacted, the Bill would amend the Securities Act, the Securities Exchange Act, the Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act to prohibit the SEC staff from obtaining algorithmic trading … Continue Reading

Pay-to-Play – SEC Expands Scope of Rule to CABs

By Lucy Wolf, Anthony Drenzek, Michael R. Hackett and Joshua M. Newville on Posted in Compliance, Examinations, FINRA, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
The SEC’s pay-to-play rule has given advisers reason to worry about potential foot faults since its adoption. As we have noted in prior posts, the rule is filled with landmines and is therefore difficult to navigate.  As was evident from the SEC’s announcement of a series of settlements of alleged pay-to-play violations in early 2017, even … Continue Reading

SEC Flags the Top Six Advertising Rule Deficiencies for Investment Advisers

By Stephen T. Mears, Robert E. Plaze, Christopher Wells, Anthony Drenzek, Joshua M. Newville and Michael R. Hackett on Posted in Compliance, OCIE, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
The SEC staff recently published an alert highlighting the most common deficiencies seen in investment advisers’ marketing materials.  Based on its recent examinations and initiatives, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued its risk alert to highlight compliance issues relating to Rule 206(4)-1 (the “Advertising Rule”).  Here are the top six: Misleading Performance … Continue Reading

SEC Speaks on Initial Coin Offerings: Tokens May Be Securities

By Jeffrey Neuburger, Joshua M. Newville and Alexandra V. Bargoot on Posted in Compliance, Examinations, Hedge Funds, News, Private Equity, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
Initial Coin Offerings (“ICOs”) are generating attention from both investors and the SEC. Investors’ interest is indicated by the more than $1.2 billion that ICOs reportedly have raised so far this year.  Meanwhile, the SEC has recently asserted its authority in the space, releasing a report stating that digital tokens issued by ICO platform “The … Continue Reading

SEC Chairman Identifies Guiding Principles

By Anthony Drenzek, Joshua M. Newville and Michael R. Hackett on Posted in Compliance, OCIE, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
On July 12, 2017, newly appointed SEC Chairman Jay Clayton delivered a speech at the non-partisan Economic Club of New York wherein he set forth several high-level guiding principles for the agency.  In general, these remarks focused on (i) ensuring protections for retail investors, (ii) positioning the SEC as a regulator which is able to … Continue Reading

Valuation of Illiquid Portfolio Investments – Avoiding Regulatory Risks with Form and Substance

By Joshua M. Newville, Timothy W. Mungovan and Anthony Drenzek on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
For private fund managers, the valuation of privately-held securities has been subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny. As the IPO on-ramp for private “unicorn” investments has lengthened, fund managers may hold illiquid investments for longer-than-expected time periods—and valuation-related risks increase as the time lengthens between purchase and exit.  This is the second of two blog posts … Continue Reading

Reported Criminal Probes Regarding Bond Valuations Highlight the Importance of Valuation Procedures

By Joshua M. Newville, Robert E. Plaze and Anthony Drenzek on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Examinations, Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
According to recent news reports, the DOJ and the SEC are investigating the possible improper use of third-party broker quotes by hedge fund managers to value illiquid debt securities in their portfolios. Prosecutors are reportedly focused on possible instances where fund managers allegedly solicited predetermined or improper quotes from brokers, and used those estimates to … Continue Reading

Cyber Attack Protection Steps for Investment Firms

By Kristen J. Mathews on Posted in Compliance, Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, Uncategorized, Venture Capital
We are reaching out to our investment firm clients to advise them of an email “spear phishing” scam that has targeted investment firms recently, attempting to lure their personnel into inadvertently revealing their email account credentials to criminal fraudsters, and making wire transfers to the criminal’s account instead of the intended account. There has been … Continue Reading

SEC Announces 2017 Compliance Outreach Program Seminars for Investment Companies and Investment Advisers

By Anthony Drenzek on Posted in Compliance, Examinations, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
On Thursday, March 23rd, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the opening of registration for its compliance outreach program seminars for investment companies and investment advisers.  The seminars will be offered in four U.S. cities and are intended to help Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) and other senior personnel enhance compliance programs at investment companies and … Continue Reading

SEC Speaks: 2017 Enforcement and Exam Trends for Private Funds

By Joshua M. Newville, Anthony Drenzek and Michael R. Hackett on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Examinations, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
At the recent SEC Speaks program, sponsored by PLI, senior SEC staff members provided valuable insight into the SEC’s 2017 priorities for private funds.  While the tenor of this year’s discussion seemed to focus more on retail investors, the staff discussed several topics that private fund advisers should keep in mind from both an enforcement … Continue Reading

The Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for Private Funds in 2017

By Timothy W. Mungovan, Joshua M. Newville, Michael R. Hackett, Anthony Drenzek and William Dalsen on Posted in Business Development Companies, Compliance, Disputes, Examinations, Fund Restructurings, Hedge Funds, Mergers & Acquisitions, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital, Whistleblower
Private investment funds and advisers are likely to face new regulatory challenges and increased litigation risks in 2017, not only because of a change in the administration, but also because many advisers have not corrected and aligned past practices with current regulatory guidance.  In this post, we have highlighted ten areas that should be on … Continue Reading

SEC Staff Announces 2017 OCIE Examination Priorities

By Anthony Drenzek, Robert Leonard and Michael R. Hackett on Posted in Compliance, Examinations, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
On January 12, 2017, the staff of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its annual announcement on examination priorities in the coming calendar year. The 2017 examination priorities are organized around three thematic areas: (i) examining matters of importance to retail investors; (ii) focusing on risks … Continue Reading

Outgoing SEC Chair Reflects on the Agency’s Enforcement Program and Advocates for Increased Authority

By Anthony Drenzek, Timothy W. Mungovan, Joshua M. Newville and Michael R. Hackett on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Whistleblower
On November 18, 2016, outgoing SEC Chair Mary Jo White delivered a speech at New York University School of Law entitled “A New Model for SEC Enforcement: Producing Bold and Unrelenting Results.”  Chair White’s remarks covered a broad range of enforcement initiatives and outcomes from her tenure as SEC Chair.  This post summarizes the aspects … Continue Reading

SEC Shake-Up: President-Elect Trump Expected to Make Key Appointments

By Michael R. Hackett, Timothy W. Mungovan, Joshua M. Newville and Anthony Drenzek on Posted in Business Development Companies, Compliance, Disputes, Examinations, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
In the wake of the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States, Mary Jo White has announced her intent to step down from her role as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Chair White, the 31st and one of the longest-serving Chairs of the SEC, will be leaving her … Continue Reading

Whistleblower Alert – OCIE to Examine Registered Investment Advisers for Overbroad Confidentiality or Severance Agreements

By Robert Leonard, Michael Mavrides, Joshua M. Newville and Anthony Drenzek on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Examinations, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Whistleblower
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) recently published a risk alert noting that the SEC exam staff intends to examine registrants’ compliance with the Dodd-Frank Act’s whistleblower provisions.  OCIE intends to examine registered advisers for compliance, in light of recent enforcement cases the SEC has filed based on violations of the Dodd-Frank … Continue Reading

OCIE By the Numbers and the Use of Big Data

By Joshua M. Newville and Anthony Drenzek on Posted in Compliance, Examinations, FINRA, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
On October 17, 2016, Marc Wyatt, the Director of the SEC’s Office of Compliance, Inspection and Examinations, gave a keynote address to the National Society of Compliance Professionals titled: Inside the National Exam Program in 2016.  In addition to discussing his general perspective concerning the program, he provided some key statistics that help put OCIE’s … Continue Reading

Fund Restructurings: How to Navigate a Conflict-Rich Environment

By Timothy W. Mungovan and Michael R. Hackett on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Fund Restructurings, Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Venture Capital
The number of private equity fund restructurings is likely to rise in the coming years.  The current economic expansion will inevitably come to an end (at 87 months and counting, this expansion is already the third longest post-WWII) making exits more challenging, just as the terms expire on funds raised during the “golden era” (2003-2007). … Continue Reading
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