As noted in my December 2017 and January 2018 posts, the SEC’s Divisions of Enforcement and Trading and Markets have pointed out in a public statement issued today that online trading platforms for cryptocurrencies that operate as “exchanges” (as that term is defined in the securities laws) and where the traded cryptocurrencies meet the SEC’s …
Last month, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton issued a Statement on Cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), and although Chairman Clayton noted that the positions expressed there were his own, rather than those of the Commission, the Statement contained several important points that asset managers, sponsors of cryptocurrency funds and those selling such funds …
The SEC’s Division of Investment Management Staff has released a Staff Letter dated January 18, 2018 to the Investment Company Institute and the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association in which the Staff identified a number of questions about how registered open-ended funds (mutual funds) and ETFs will comply with the Investment Company Act of …
Cryptocurrency’s Legal Considerations for Asset Managers The asset management community’s interest in cryptocurrencies (also called virtual currencies) has grown in tandem with the exponential increase in market price of Bitcoin in recent months. As recently as January 2017, a single Bitcoin could be traded for $1,000. Today, a single Bitcoin traded for $16,680; a Bitcoin …
Forewarned Is Forearmed as RIAs Put Together Ad Campaigns In Light of Recent OCIE Guidance On September 14, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued its list of frequently-encountered compliance issues related to Rule 206(4)-1 under the Advisers Act (the Advertising Rule) arising from its examinations of RIAs. For advisers, forewarned is …
OCIE Issues Its Observations From Its Cybersecurity 2 Initiative On August 7, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued its observations based on recent examinations of broker dealers, RIAs, and RICs made to assist the firms’ cybersecurity preparedness. Industry members will find those observations a useful roadmap of issues likely to be …
Compliance Date Is October 1, 2017 for SEC’s Amendments to Form ADV and IAA Rule 204-2 Last year, the SEC adopted amendments to Form ADV and Rule 204-2 under the Advisers Act and the compliance date for the amendments is October 1, 2017. Registered investment advisers should consider whether the changes affect the types of …