The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has admitted wrongdoing and agreed to pay a $400,000 penalty to settle SEC charges that it failed to adequately disclose project risks to investors purchasing $2.3 billion in bonds to fund the Pulaski Skyway. The settlement includes additional remedial measures.
The Authority's internal discussions raised substantial doubts about the project's lawful authorization, and risks of bondholder challenges. Yet, the issuer's offering documents made no mention of those risks and represented the proceeds would be used for projects ...
The Securities Act of 1933's catchall for defining a security is the "investment contract." The landmark case, SEC v Howey, explained that "an investment contract for the purposes of the Securities Act means a contract, transaction or scheme whereby a person invests his money in a common enterprise and is led to expect profits solely form the efforts of the promoter or a third party …" Here, the Howey Court held that selling shares in a citrus farm managed by the promoter was an investment contract. Under the Howey test, staking sports, poker, or fantasy sports gamblers (or a related ...
On January 4, new President and CEO Richard Cook issued FINRA's Annual Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter. This year's list in summary is:
New for 2017:
Targeted electronic off-site reviews "on select firms not scheduled for cycle exams."
An annual summary report of key exam findings on selected issues
More resources for small firms, including:
- Compliance calendar;
- Compliance service provide directory.
High-Risk / Recidivist Brokers
Dedicated exam group
Supervisory procedures and due-diligence
Branch inspections
Sales Practices
Seniors: fraud and abuse; ...
The Tenth Circuit recently held that the SEC's in-house judges are "inferior officers" hired in violation of Article II's Appointment Clauses, creating a split with the D.C. Circuit over the issue.
The Tenth Circuit held that the SEC's ALJs were (1) positions "established by law," with (2) "duties, salary, and means of appointment … specified by statute," and (3) "exercise significant discretion" in "carrying out important functions." Thus, they were similar to the special tax judges held inferior officers in Freytag v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 501 U.S. 868 (1991). See ...
A unanimous Supreme Court reaffirmed the "gifting" theory of insider trading under Dirks and rejected Newman "to the extent" it required more.
The Court's long-standing rule in Dirks v. SEC, 463 U.S. 646, 664 (1983) allows a jury to infer a tipper's personal benefit "where the tipper receives something of value in exchange for the tip or 'makes a fit of confidential information to a trading relative or friend.'"
Recently, the Second Circuit appeared to limit the "gifting" theory. In United States v. Newman, 773 F.3d 438, 452 (2nd Cir. 2014), cert. denied, 577 U.S. ___ (2015), the Court ...
On April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") issued its final rule expanding the definition of the "investment advice fiduciary" under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") and modifying the exemptions for investment activities. The new rule will be phased in starting in April 2017, and it is anticipated to draw battles over its expansion of the circumstances under which providing investment advice could give rise to a fiduciary duty. Specifically, by expanding the definition of a fiduciary, the rule casts a wide net in assigning fiduciary ...
In late October, FINRA issued a sweep exam, commanding firms to produce 15 categories of documents about firm's cross-selling programs over a 5-year span. The sweep seeks information on cross-selling, including incentives and compensation, tracking and performance metrics, complaints and discipline, compliance and supervision, among others. The letter also imposes a November 15 response deadline.
The sweep letter does not expressly refer to the recent Wells Fargo cross-selling scandal or to Senator Warren's ensuing broad-side calling for SEC Chair White's resignation ...
The Public Investors Arbitration Bar Association (PIABA) renewed its criticism of FINRA's Broker-Check® system in a report issued in late October. PIABA was especially critical of the system's
- Lack of synchronization with state-regulator databases that often contain more fulsome information (including, e.g., CRD information such as reasons for broker termination, bankruptcy filings and tax liens);
- Lack of comparative, contextual data such as the total number of brokers and percentage of those with similar numbers of disciplinary results;
- Inaccessibility to the public ...
The SEC reports it brought 868 enforcement actions in the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016 -- more than ever before, and for the third year in a row. But a Wall Street Journal article this week attributes it to playing "small ball" with little, easily-won cases.
In the Journal's analysis, the SEC's enforcement numbers would have remained relatively flat (up some) if not for the addition of 91 smaller cases under Chair White's "broken windows" mandate. The mandate derives from community policing models (and a 1982 article by political scientist James Q. Wilson) that posit overall ...
The Sixth Circuit this week declined the SEC's request to dismiss a Constitutional challenge to the new MSRB pay-to-play rules. Instead, the Court ordered the case to a merits panel for consideration. The Republican parties of Tennessee, Georgia and New York are challenging the regulations in consolidated actions.
The SEC argued that its tacit "deemed approval" of new MSRB pay-to-play rules didn't constitute agency action. The SEC's "no we didn't" argument was an attempt to avoid judicial review of the agency's [in]action that allowed the rules to become effective. I discussed the ...