On February 5, 2018, FINRA will enact two rules to assist brokers with addressing financial exploitation of the elderly. Statistically, the elderly have a 1 in 20 chance of being a victim of financial exploitation. [Financial Exploitation of Older Adults: A Population-Based Prevalence Study, Journal of General Internal Medicine (2015)]. As financial abuse, especially of the elderly, continues to be a concern, the SEC approved FINRA's request to amend FINRA rule 4512 ("Customer Account Information"), found here, and approved new rule 2165 ("Financial Exploitation of Specified ...
Implemented in September, the Securities Exchange Commission's ("SEC") Cyber Unit has brought its first enforcement action against an "Initial Coin Offering" ("ICO") called PlexCoin. ICOs, which are listed on digital exchanges, are designed to raise money through the issuance of digital tokens. Generally, coins or tokens entitle investors certain rights related to a venture underlying the ICO, such as a right to profits, shares of assets, rights to use certain services provided by the issuer, and/or voting rights. The SEC recently hinted that an ICO's digital coins are ...
On November 29, the SEC did an about-face and admitted its ALJs are "inferior officers" (not merely employees) subject to the Constitution's Article II appointment provisions. The Solicitor General's brief on behalf of the Commission sided with the argument of its opponent, Raymond Lucia; DOJ urged the Supreme Court to resolve a circuit split by ruling against the SEC's litigation position below and overturning the prior decision by the Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
The next day, the Commission took formal action ratifying the appointment of its ALJs, thus complying with the ...