Securities Litigation

OCIE released its 2017 exam priorities on January 12. The priorities list was most notable for being shorter than prior years. But that likely means only more focus, rather than less vigor. Here is the list with some quick takes on its content:

Retail Investors:

Robo-adviser and wrap-fee programs (under scrutiny too for the DOL fiduciary rule - whether it stays or goes)

ETFs (due to increasing popularity)

Un-examined IA's (recognizing resource scarcity and the growth of SEC-registered IAs)

Recidivist Reps (the subject of several Wall St. Journal articles last year)

Multi-branch ...