The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) released its 2021 Examination Priorities on March 3. The Examinations group – elevated last December to Division status (formerly the Office of Compliance Investigations and Examinations (“OCIE”)) -- covered the list of perennial concerns. The 2021 priorities include some new subjects, however, reflecting the policy emphasis of the Biden administration.
“This year, the Division is enhancing its focus on climate and ESG-related risks by examining proxy voting policies and practices to ensure voting aligns ...
Effective June 30, SEC Reg. BI requires broker-dealers to make recommendations only in the “best interests” of retail customers, imposing additional disclosure, care, conflicts-of-interest and compliance obligations. The disclosure obligations include dissemination of Form CRS educating customers on the nature of their relationship with the firm.
FINRA Regulatory Notice 20-18, issued June 19, makes corresponding changes to its Rules stressing the primacy of Reg. BI with respect to retail customers:
Capital Acquisition Brokers’ suitability (Rule 211).
On April 2, Chair Clayton said the SEC would hold firm on the June 30 compliance deadline for Regulation Best Interest (“Reg. BI”) and Form CRS, but suggested early examinations might focus more on compliance efforts than results. The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) issued two April 7 Risk Alerts providing firms with guidance on what to expect during those early-phase examinations.
As expected, OCIE indicates its exams will focus on whether firms “have made a good-faith effort to implement policies and procedures reasonably designed ...
Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Jay Clayton issued an April 2 public statement that the SEC will hold firm on its June 30, 2020 deadline for firms to implement Reg. BI and Form CRS. There had been industry speculation that the SEC might push that compliance deadline back in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Regulation Best Interest (“Reg. BI”) was adopted by the SEC last June in the wake of the turmoil from the Department of Labor’s “Fiduciary Rule” – a preemptive regulatory incursion into financial markets outside DOL’s usual “portfolio” that resulted in a ...