Regulatory & Compliance

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In July 2025, the SEC settled charges against the Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) of two investment advisers that involved backdating compliance documents and attempting to conceal these fabrications from examiners. The settlements imposed civil monetary penalties for both officers as well as a three-year bar for the more severe violation.

These actions reinforce a lesson that should be familiar: regardless of the party in power, regulators do not look kindly on backdated documents or attempts to mislead them. While most CCOs would never consider engaging in similar conduct, any action against a CCO in their personal capacity inevitably raise broader questions in the industry about what other actions could expose a CCO to personal liability. Put another way: most CCOs understand not to go 60 miles per hour in a school zone, but what if they roll through a stop sign?

On August 15, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued an order settling proceedings against TZP Management Associates, LLC (“TZP”) for allegedly miscalculating management fee offsets between 2018 and 2023. The SEC’s action, based solely on a non-scienter claim, underscores the SEC’s ongoing focus on management fee calculation practices, despite talk of deregulation and a shift toward cases involving fraud and manipulation. Bread-and-butter issues such as fee miscalculations remain an enforcement priority.[1]

As businesses accelerate their use of automated tools to record and transcribe meetings, risks are growing. The use of these “AI tools” to transcribe meetings, such as witness interviews, expert network calls, investment committee meetings or advisory board discussions can transform ephemeral conversations into permanent records that can affect claims…