Posts tagged OCIE.

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 ...

Posted in: COVID-19, OCIE, SEC

The SEC recently announced the creation of the Event and Emerging Risks Examination Team (“EERT”) in its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”).  OCIE is the unit charged with conducting compliance exams on registered investment companies, investment advisors, and broker-dealers -- although primary responsibility for examining broker-dealers lies with their self-regulatory organization, FINRA (itself subject to OCIE exams).

The SEC said the EERT unit “will proactively engage with financial firms about emerging threats and current market ...

Posted in: OCIE, SEC
Tags: EERT, OCIE, SEC

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 ...

Former Louisiana deputy sheriff and Russian resident Steven Seagal agreed to a Cease and Desist (“C&D”) Order by the SEC, finding violations of the non-touting provisions of Securities Act § 17(b) and imposing civil penalties for acting as a Twitter and Facebook “brand ambassador” for cryptocurrency Bitcoiin2Gen without disclosing it was a paid endorsement.

The Order required Seagal to forego such opportunities for any issuer for three years, disgorge his endorsement fees and pay a civil penalty of a like amount over the coming year.

In 2017, the SEC’s Office of ...

The SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") announced the agency's priorities for this year on January 11. Commission staff will focus on three broad areas: Retail Investors, Market-Wide Risks, and increased used of Data Analytics. Retail Investors Seniors top the list in this category, as the SEC continues its "ReTIRE" initiative announced last June. A nod to the aging boomer bubble, the ReTIRE program is a multi-year effort focusing on investment-adviser and broker-dealer issues in the retirement savings context, including: reasonable-basis ...

Posted in: OCIE, SEC
A week after OCIE announced it would conduct a second round of cyber-security exams, the Commission emphasized the issue by bringing an enforcement action against a non-custodial investment-adviser over a remediated data breach that caused no customer harm. The adviser used a third-party-hosted web server, on which was stored the personally-identifiable information ("PII") of about 100,000 people, including the firm's 8,400 customers. The server suffered a cyber-attack and data breach in July 2013. The firm responded by retaining multiple consultants, investigating the ...
The SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") issued a recent "Risk Alert" noting observed deficiencies in broker-dealer supervision and compliance controls over retail sales of structured products - especially structured notes. Structured Securities Products ("SSP's") often are principal obligations of BD affiliates, offering exposure to particular underlying asset classes and typically having fixed-income characteristics with embedded derivatives. Examples include principal-protected notes and reverse-convertible notes. SSP's ...
Posted in: OCIE, SEC

The SEC and FINRA each issued February 3 cyber security "alerts" summarizing last year's sweep exams and pointing out the obvious. In two parts, the SEC's press-release covered the results of the Commission's 2013-2014 sweep exams and an investor bulletin. SEC Press Release 2015-20, here. The Commission's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") conducted a "sweep exam" - or wide industry survey on the subject among broker-dealers and investment advisers- during 2013 and 2014. The good news is that a wide majority of them have have information security ...

Posted in: FINRA, SEC

The SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") released its 2015 Exam Priorities January 13. Director Andrew Bowden's annual list details OCIE's subject of focus for the coming year. The hot topics for 2015 include: For Retail securities sales: - The "retail-ization" of private funds, illiquid investments and structured or other alternative products that pose extra risks when complex products are sold to "mom and pop" investors; - Fees & "reverse churning" (a fixed asset-based fee on accounts with little or no activity) - when account or commission ...

Posted in: FINRA, OCIE, SEC

The SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") announced August 19 a two-year, three-phase examination initiative targeting newly-registered municipal advisors. SEC Press Rel. 2014-170 (Aug. 19, 2014). The MA Examination Initiative hopes to engage a significant portion of newly-registered MA's. In the first phase, Engagement, OCIE will engage in nationwide outreach to inform MA's of their obligations under Dodd-Frank, the SEC's new MA Rule and related implementing Rules by MSRB and others. The second phase, Examination, will review identified ...

Posted in: Dodd-Frank, OCIE, SEC

On January 9, the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") issued its annual "hot-topics" list of examination priorities for 2014. National Exam Program Priorities across OCIE's entire program include: 1. Fraud Detection & Prevention 2. Corporate Governance, Conflicts of Interest & Enterprise Risk Management 3. Technology 4. Dual Registrants (BD & RIA) 5. New Laws & Regulation

  • Rule 506(c) Accredited Investors
  • Crowd-funding
  • Municipal Advisors
  • New Registrants under Dodd-Frank
6. Retirement Vehicles & Rollovers (IRA & 401k) suitability ...
Posted in: Dodd-Frank, OCIE, SEC
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