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Category Archives: Regulation

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SEC clamps down on Custody Rule

By Hena M. Vora, Joshua M. Newville, Samuel J. Waldon and Robert E. Plaze on Posted in Compliance, Examinations, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC
Under rule 206(4)-2 of the Advisers Act, otherwise known as the Custody Rule, it is a fraudulent practice for a registered investment adviser to have custody of client funds or securities, unless the adviser takes certain required steps to protect the assets.  Over the past year the SEC’s Enforcement division has been relatively active investigating … Continue Reading

Proskauer Private Investment Funds Group Releases 2019 Annual Review and Outlook

By Anthony Drenzek on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
Proskauer’s Private Investment Funds Group recently released its 2019 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 Enforcers Continue to Focus on Undisclosed Fees

By Joshua M. Newville and Brian Hooven on Posted in Compliance, OCIE, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Uncategorized
In a series of enforcement cases over the past few months, the SEC has continued to bring actions focused on undisclosed fees charged to clients. Many of these cases have charged firms with fraud and other violations based on fees that were not adequately disclosed. While some attention has focused on retail wealth managers, institutional … Continue Reading

SEC Releases FY 2019 Enforcement Results: Increases in Investment Adviser Actions and Maintained Focus on Individual Accountability

By Samuel J. Waldon, Joshua M. Newville and Adam L. Deming on Posted in Disputes, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
Yesterday the SEC announced its enforcement results for FY 2019, accompanied by a report from the Co-Directors of its Division of Enforcement.  While the total number of actions increased slightly from 2018, the percentage of cases involving investment advisers or investment companies increased more dramatically, growing from 22% in 2018 to 36% in 2019, with … Continue Reading

SEC Announces the Formation of Asset Management Advisory Committee

By Anthony Drenzek, Hena M. Vora and Michael R. Hackett on Posted in Compliance, Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
As a further indication of the SEC’s focus on the asset management industry, on November 1, 2019 the Commission formally established an Asset Management Advisory Committee. This follows the SEC’s recent announcement of its intent to establish the committee.… Continue Reading

New York Establishes Six-Year Statute of Limitation for Prosecution of Claims under the Martin Act

By Anthony Drenzek and Seetha Ramachandran on Posted in Disputes, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, Securities Law
On August 25, 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed New York State Senate Bill S6536 which established a six-year statute of limitations for the prosecution of certain crimes related to fraudulent practices in respect to stocks, bonds and other securities and conducting business in the State of New York. As discussed below, the legislation … Continue Reading

Fund Sponsor’s Fee Calculation Mistake Leads to SEC Enforcement

By Joshua M. Newville, Samuel J. Waldon and Lucy Wolf on Posted in Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
A settlement last week involving a private equity fund sponsor is a reminder that compliance with fee calculation provisions and valuation policies and procedures are crucially important for fund managers.  Even when an error is the result of simple negligence, the SEC will take enforcement action when fee calculations do not strictly comply with the … Continue Reading

Proposed Senate Bill Would Significantly Impact Certain Private Funds and Their Affiliates

By Anthony Drenzek, Joshua M. Newville and Stephen T. Mears on Posted in Compliance, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
Recently, a group of Congress members introduced into Congress Senate Bill 2155 named the Stop Wall Street Looting Act of 2019. Although unlikely to be enacted into law as drafted, this proposed legislation would directly and substantially affect a number of fundamental operational aspects of private equity funds and their affiliates.… Continue Reading

Proskauer Launches Private Equity SEC Enforcement Tracker

By Timothy W. Mungovan, Howard J. Beber, Stephen T. Mears, Samuel J. Waldon, Joshua M. Newville and Brian Hooven on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC
Today, we are launching a proprietary database tracking all SEC enforcement actions involving private equity advisers. The tracker contains key information from the actions, including summaries of key issues, settlement terms, and relevant statutory provisions. The tracker will be an important resource for us and our clients, providing us with quick access to comparable cases … Continue Reading

SEC Announces New Approach to Disqualification Waivers

By Samuel J. Waldon, Karen J. Garnett, Joshua M. Newville and Robert E. Plaze on Posted in Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
On July 3, 2019, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton issued a “Statement Regarding Offers of Settlement” (the “Statement”), announcing important changes to how the SEC will consider future requests for waivers from disqualifications in settlements.  The Statement may have been prompted by the Bad Actor Disqualification Act of 2019 recently proposed by Representative Maxine Waters.  Regardless … Continue Reading

SEC Fines Fund Manager $5 Million Over Undervaluation of Assets

By Joshua M. Newville and Brian Hooven on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Hedge Funds, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
A recent action where the SEC focused on the presumably conservative undervaluation of assets suggests that it is more than willing to use valuation as a hook to deter “smoothing” of returns. As we previously noted, while the SEC consistently announces that valuation is a “key area of focus,” it is uncommon for regulators to … Continue Reading

Rocky Mountain Securities Conference: A Review Of Enforcement

By Samuel J. Waldon and Hena M. Vora on Posted in Compliance, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
The SEC, in conjunction with the Colorado Bar Association and Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants, recently sponsored the 51st Annual Rocky Mountain Securities Conference featuring SEC officials and corporate experts from across the nation.  Sam Waldon, partner at Proskauer and former Assistant Chief Counsel in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, moderated a panel of … Continue Reading

DC Circuit Opinion Reaffirms Fiduciary and Disclosure Obligations of Advisers While Rejecting SEC Finding of “Willful” Violations

By Joshua M. Newville, Samuel J. Waldon, Anthony Drenzek and Ariella Muller on Posted in Disputes, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
The DC Circuit recently released an opinion addressing the SEC’s administrative findings against registered investment adviser The Robare Group (TRG) for failure to disclose alleged conflicts of interest. Although the court affirmed the SEC’s finding of a violation of Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act, it held that Commission could not find willful violations under … Continue Reading

Fraud Claims Against Startup Founder Involving Secondary Market Sales Demonstrate SEC Focus on Privately-Held Companies

By Joshua M. Newville and Brian Hooven on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
Last week the SEC announced a settlement of fraud claims against the founder of Jumio, Inc, a private mobile payments company, for misstating the company’s financial results and using those financials to sell his company shares on the secondary market.  This case is a reminder that privately negotiated securities transactions and private, VC-funded companies are … Continue Reading

The Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for Private Funds in 2019

By Timothy W. Mungovan, Samuel J. Waldon, Joshua M. Newville, Michael R. Hackett, Anthony Drenzek, William Dalsen, Brian Hooven, Alexandra V. Bargoot, Lucy Wolf and Hena M. Vora on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Examinations, Hedge Funds, Mergers & Acquisitions, OCIE, Private Credit, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Uncategorized, Venture Capital
An increasingly sophisticated and active OCIE division, innovative market disruptors, a maturing credit cycle, and a philosophical change in how the private fund industry views and utilizes litigation are likely to lead to increased regulatory scrutiny and litigation risk for advisers (and their funds) in 2019.  With that backdrop, we are pleased to present our … Continue Reading

SEC Staff Announces 2019 OCIE Examination Priorities

By Anthony Drenzek on Posted in Compliance, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations has released its annual priorities publication for 2019.  Containing both a look back at the program’s accomplishments for fiscal year 2018 and a look forward into its initiatives for 2019, this annual report sets out important guidance for private fund managers in administering their compliance programs and … Continue Reading

Valuation of Illiquid Securities as a Focus of Recent Enforcement Actions

By Joshua M. Newville and Brian Hooven on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
While the SEC consistently announces that valuation is a “key area of focus,” it is uncommon for regulators to “second guess” valuation determinations in the absence of other potential violations. However, recent actions would suggest that the SEC is particularly interested in the valuations and methodologies behind illiquid securities. As we have noted here before, … Continue Reading

Proskauer Private Investment Funds Group Releases 2018 Annual Review and Outlook

By Anthony Drenzek on Posted in Compliance, Hedge Funds, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
Proskauer’s Private Investment Funds Group today released its 2018 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 recommended … Continue Reading

WSJ Article on Geolocation Data Highlights Risks for Fund Managers

By Joshua M. Newville and Jeffrey Neuburger on Posted in Compliance, Hedge Funds, Regulation
On Friday, the WSJ published an article detailing how companies are monetizing smartphone location data by selling it to hedge fund clients.  The data vendor featured in the WSJ article obtains geolocation data from about 1,000 apps that fund managers use to predict trends involving public companies.  However, as we’ve noted, the use of alternative … Continue Reading

Bharara Task Force on Insider Trading

By Joshua M. Newville and Samuel J. Waldon on Posted in Compliance, Hedge Funds, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
Former SDNY U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and SEC Commissioner Jackson recently announced, via NY Times op-ed, the creation of the Bharara Task Force on Insider Trading.  Based on the premise that U.S. insider trading laws are unclear and hopelessly out of date, the task force intends to propose new insider trading reforms to help clarify … Continue Reading

SEC Extends Registration Requirements for Investment Companies and Broker Dealers to ICOs and other Digital Assets

By Joshua M. Newville, Samuel J. Waldon, Robert E. Plaze and Lucy Wolf on Posted in Examinations, Hedge Funds, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law
Fund managers take note – after over a year of warning, this month the SEC announced a pair of settlement orders with respect to registration requirements for a fund and broker dealer operating in the crypto and digital assets space. It was the agency’s first ever enforcement actions applying the investment company and broker-dealer registration … Continue Reading

Unicorns: The Tale Continues

By Joshua M. Newville, William Dalsen and Alexandra V. Bargoot on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Examinations, Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
Potential disputes involving unicorns have been a hot topic for the last several years.  We predicted that would continue this year in in our webinar and related blog post: The Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for Private Funds in 2018.  In April, the Regional Director of the SEC’s San Francisco office, Jina Choi, confirmed … Continue Reading

Voluntary Remediation and the SEC: Six Key Elements and Three Potential Pitfalls

By Samuel J. Waldon and Laura Stafford on Posted in Compliance, Examinations, OCIE, Private Equity, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC
A recent settled SEC order, In re Arlington Capital Management, Inc. and Joseph F. LoPresti, highlights the potential benefits of voluntarily taking steps to remediate conduct or practices that could run afoul of the SEC’s rules and standards. If done correctly, voluntary remediation can result in meaningful reductions in the sanctions sought by the SEC. … Continue Reading

Regulatory Scrutiny of the ICO Market – What Fund Managers Should Know

By Joshua M. Newville, Anthony Drenzek and Brian Hooven on Posted in Compliance, Disputes, Private Equity Litigation, Regulation, SEC, Securities Law, Venture Capital
Last week, former CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler explained in remarks at M.I.T. that he believes the second and third most widely used virtual currencies—Ether and Ripple—may have been issued and traded in violation of securities regulations. This comes on the heels of a crackdown on cryptocurrency-related securities by the SEC, which is particularly focused on … Continue Reading
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