Several member firms recently notified FINRA that they have experienced email account takeovers (ATOs) while using cloud-based email platforms, including Microsoft Office 365 (O365). Attackers used compromised email accounts to defraud member firms by requesting fraudulent wire requests or stealing confidential firm information or non-public personally identifiable information (PII).
This Notice outlines the attackers’ tactics in executing ATOs, as well as steps taken by member firms to address ATO risks when using cloud-based email systems.
FINRA today announced it has made available new resources to assist member firms in their efforts to comply with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) and Form CRS by the rules’ compliance date of June 30, 2020. FINRA is assisting members in a variety of ways including by providing a new Reg BI and Form CRS Checklist – available on FINRA’s Reg BI webpage along with a number of other resources – and by hosting several FINRA Reg BI events in the coming months.
Business assets are generally reported at the lower of cost or market value. Under this accounting principle, certain assets are reported at fair value, such as asset retirement obligations and derivatives.
Fair value also comes into play in M&A transactions. That is, if one company acquires another, the buyer must allocate the purchase price of the target company to its assets and liabilities. This allocation requires the valuation of identifiable intangible assets that weren’t on the target company’s balance sheet, such as brands, patents, customer lists and goodwill.
As part of its overall review of how the federal proxy rules apply to proxy voting advice by proxy advisory firms, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published two interpretive releases in August 2019, aimed at proxy advisory firms and investment advisers that use their services when voting proxies of securities held in client accounts.
On June 18, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued a concept release (the “Release”) on ways to “simplify, harmonize, and improve the exempt offering framework to expand investment opportunities while maintaining appropriate investor protections and to promote capital formation.”1 The Release notes, among other things, that in light of the increased amounts of capital currently being raised through exempt offerings, the SEC is asking for comment regarding if it should consider rule changes to make exempt offerings available to a wider swath of investors. The current exempt offering framework has been developed over the years through various legislative action, including the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”) and the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), as well as through exemptions adopted by the SEC.
By Susan Light, Michael T. Foley & Adam P. Haft on September 13, 2019 Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP
On September 9, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released two small entity compliance guides to assist broker-dealers and investment advisers in complying with the recently adopted Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) and Form CRS.
Investment News - Mark Schoeff Jr.
More than 18 months after the Securities and Exchange Commission began a crackdown on inadequate mutual fund payment disclosures, the problem doesn't seem to be going away.
In February 2018, the agency implemented an enforcement program encouraging advisory firms to report themselves if they recommended high-fee share classes without telling clients that lower-cost investments were available in the same fund.
Investment News - Mark Schoeff Jr.
When a new investment advice standard for brokers is implemented next June, Finra will be responsible for examining brokers for compliance. But the Securities and Exchange Commission will make the final call on determining how the regulation will work.
"It's not our rule. It's an SEC rule," Finra chief executive Robert W. Cook told state regulators on Monday at the North American Securities Administrators Association annual conference in Austin, Tex.
