Complex products continue to be a regulatory cause célèbre, drawing attention from the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). FINRA launched a targeted examination of practices relating to options account opening, ongoing options account supervision and customer communications in connection with options in August
The Amended Rules are Intended to be “More Technology Neutral” and Specifically Address Cloud Storage
On October 12, 2022, the SEC adopted amendments to the electronic recordkeeping requirements under SEC Rule 17a-4, applicable to broker-dealers, as well as SEC Rule 18a-6, applicable to security-based swap dealers and major security-based swap participants that are not registered as broker-dealers.
On June 15, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued a request for comment to “help determine which ‘information providers,’ such as index providers, model portfolio providers, and pricing services, might come under the SEC’s definition of an investment adviser.” The request for comment (the “RFC”) discusses the roles played by these entities in, for example, the construction and calculation of indices, and analyzes the factors used to determine whether an entity is providing investment advice within the meaning of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”). Among other things, the SEC is concerned about what it terms “significant discretion” in index methodologies.
Continue Reading SEC Request for Comment on “Information Providers”