United States (US) – Page 3 – Global Investment Law Watch

United States: Firms Fail to File 13Fs, Fines Follow

Sep 18 2024

By: C. Todd Gibson, Pablo J. Man, and Brian Doyle-Wenger

On 17 September 2024, the SEC announced settled charges against 11 institutional investment managers for failing to file Form 13F. In addition, two of the 11 firms also failed to file Forms 13H as large traders. The penalties ranged from US$175,000 to US$725,000, and in the aggregate exceeded US$3 million combined. However, two firms self-reported and paid no penalties and one firm self-reported Form 13H filing violations and paid no penalties on that portion of the settlement. Furthermore, all of the institutional investment managers made remedial filings covering several years (in one case over 50 such filings).

United States: End of Summer Pool Party: CFTC Approves Final Rule Amending 4.7 Regulatory Relief for CPOs and CTAs

Sep 17 2024

By: Cheryl L. Isaac, Matthew J. Rogers, and Benjamin C. Skillin

On 12 September 2024, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) published a Final Rule impacting registered commodity pool operators (CPOs) and commodity trading advisors (CTAs) relying on the regulatory relief provided under CFTC Regulation 4.7. “Registration light,” as Regulation 4.7 is sometimes known, provides reduced disclosure, reporting and recordkeeping obligations for CPOs and CTAs that limit sales activities to “qualified eligible persons” (QEPs).

United States: After Approval at DC District Court, Appeals Court Halts Trading Event Contracts Based on Election Outcomes

Sep 13 2024

By: Cliff C. Histed, Cheryl L. Isaac, and Wiley F. Cole

On 12 September 2024, the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in KalshiEx LLC v. CFTC that designated contract markets may list event contracts whose payouts are tied to the outcome of elections. The court’s order, which granted summary judgment to KalshiEx LLC (Kalshi), held that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) interpreted its own regulations too broadly and that registered derivatives exchanges such as Kalshi may offer election outcome event contracts for trading.

United States: More Marketing Missteps

Sep 10 2024

By: Pablo Man, Pamela Grossetti, Lance Dial and Jennifer Klass

On 9 September 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced settled charges against nine registered investment advisers for violations of Rule 206(4)-1 (the Marketing Rule). Unlike the prior settlements (which focused primarily on the use of hypothetical performance), these settlements focused on other elements of the Marketing Rule: (i) the prohibitions on statements of material fact that are untrue or that the adviser cannot substantiate; (ii) disclosures relating to testimonials and endorsements; and (iii) required disclosures for third-party ratings. Many of these violations were based on website disclosures. In total, nine advisers agreed to pay US$1,240,000 in combined civil penalties, ranging from US$60,000 to US$325,000.

United States: FinCEN Narrows the Final AML Requirements for Investment Advisers

Aug 30 2024

By: Richard F. Kerr and Jennifer L. Klass

On 28 August 2024, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) finalized regulations that add certain investment advisers (Covered Advisers) to the definition of a “financial institution” under the Bank Secrecy Act thereby requiring Covered Advisers to, among other things, establish anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) programs and file Suspicious Activity Reports with FinCEN. The effective date of the new rules is January 1, 2026.

United States: Form N-PORT and Form N-CEN Reporting; Guidance on Open-End Fund Liquidity Risk

Aug 29 2024

By: Jon-Luc Dupuy, Nicholas O. Ersoy, and Jordan A. Knight

On 28 August 2024, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to Rule 30b1-9 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and Forms N-PORT and N-CEN (Final Rule). More specifically, the SEC adopted rule and form amendments that will: (1) require certain registered investment companies, including registered open-end funds, registered closed-end funds, and exchange traded funds organized as unit investment trusts but excluding money market funds, that report on Form N-PORT to file such reports on a monthly basis within thirty (30) days after the end of that month (rather than filing no later than sixty (60) days after the end of the fiscal quarter for the three (3) months in such quarter as currently required); and (2) amend Form N-CEN to require open-end funds to report certain information about service providers used to comply with liquidity risk management program requirements, among other technical amendments to the relevant rule and forms.

United States: The SEC Is Not Done Bringing Enforcement Actions for Off-Channel Communications

Aug 15 2024

By: Pablo J. Man and Lance C. Dial

Following a number of eyebrow-raising settlements with broker-dealers and dual registrants and a standalone investment adviser, on 14 August 2024 the SEC settled charges against 26 broker-dealers, investment advisers, and dual registrants for recordkeeping failures related to off-channel communications. The combined monetary penalties totaled nearly US$393 million, with individual penalties ranging from US$400,000 to US$50 million. The SEC noted that three of the firms (which paid US$5.5 million, US$4.5 million, and US$1.6 million penalties) self-reported their violations and consequently paid “significantly less” than they otherwise would have.

United States: Missouri Anti-ESG Rules Struck Down

Aug 15 2024

By: Lance C. Dial and Pablo J. Man

Yesterday, 14 August 2024, a United States District Court issued a decision in Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association vs. Ashcroft finding that a pair of “anti-ESG” regulations promulgated by the Missouri Securities Division were both preempted by federal law and unconstitutional. While specifically applicable only to the Missouri regulations, this decision sets new guardrails for existing and future state regulation of federally-registered broker-dealers and investment advisers both generally and relating to environmental social and governance (ESG) investing.

United States: CME Group Clarifies and Emphasizes the Duty to Supervise Trading on its Markets

Aug 09 2024

By: Clifford Histed and Cheryl Isaac

If you or your company trades on CME, CBOT, NYMEX or COMEX (CME Group exchanges, collectively referred to herein as “CME”), you will need to take note of CME’s new Market Regulation Advisory Notice (MRAN), which became effective on 16 July. The new MRAN is called “Supervisory Responsibilities for Employees and Agents” and should be reviewed closely to understand CME’s expectations related to diligent supervision, including policies, trainings, monitoring, remediation and sanctions.

United States: Child’s Play: Congress Proposes Allowing Sandboxes for AI Within the Financial Services Industry

Aug 07 2024

By Matthew J. Rogers and Maxwell J. Black

A bipartisan group in the US Congress has introduced legislation that aims to foster artificial intelligence (AI) innovation within the financial services industry by creating regulatory sandboxes. This new bill marks a significant step toward a unified, nationwide framework for regulating AI in the financial services industry.

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