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.
Proskauer Private Investment Funds Group Releases Annual Review and Outlook
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
U.S. House Bill Aims to Curtail SEC Staff’s Ability to Obtain Algorithmic Trading Source Code
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 source code without a subpoena. This would prevent the SEC staff from obtaining source code through OCIE exam requests or during the early stages of an investigation before the staff has obtained authority to issue subpoenas.
SEC Flags the Top Six Advertising Rule Deficiencies for Investment Advisers
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
SEC Shake-Up: President-Elect Trump Expected to Make Key Appointments
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 post at the end of the Obama administration in January.
The outcome of the election and Chair White’s announceme
nt are sure to kick off an avalanche of prognostication about her successor, the direction of the SEC, and the fate of some of the laws that govern the securities industry, most principally the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. There is already speculation that President-elect Trump will designate a Chair who is a proponent of smaller government and deregulation to steer the agency charged with overseeing the securities industry.
Beyond designating a Chair, however, President-elect Trump will be in a position to overhaul the makeup of the SEC during his administration. Upon assuming office, President-elect Trump will be authorized to appoint three of the five SEC Commissioners, in addition to designating the next Chair – with a fourth Commissioner appointment as early as June of 2017. This is particularly important in an agency that relies on Commissioner votes for each decision, order, rule or similar action. However, despite his broad appointment powers, President-elect Trump will not be permitted to remove any of the remaining Commissioners, nor will he be permitted to “stack the deck” by appointing only Republicans to fill all of the open Commissioner seats.