Leaving annual review prudential regulatory preparations until December creates a last-minute crush of work, and may result in key areas being overlooked. We discuss the importance of reviewing and refreshing prudential programmes in a timely manner
Compliance
September 2, 2019
Poll findings reveal that less than 2% of firms ready for the Senior Managers & Certification Regime, which comes into force in less than 100 days. It's clear that solo-regulated firms must accelerate the pace at which they are preparing for regulation ahead of 9 December implementation but is the work required ahead of the deadline being underestimated?
August 22, 2019
With a raft of regulatory changes coming into force over the last few years, financial firms have incurred many system, process, policy and procedure changes. Overseeing and managing all of the moving pieces presents a challenge for compliance teams. How can Senior Management and Compliance Officers be confident that their governance, risk, and compliance framework is current, sufficiently comprehensive and ultimately effective to avoid regulatory scrutiny?
August 20, 2019
Following the conviction of a former compliance officer of a major investment bank, the FCA raises concerns on the control of access to inside information. We examine the regulator's findings and recommendations, and what this means for financial services firms.
August 8, 2019
The U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will collect data regarding non-U.S. residents’ holdings of securities of U.S. issuers via Form TIC SHL. This mandatory collection is conducted every five years. The filing deadline is August 30, 2019, and data must be reported as of June 30, 2019.
August 1, 2019
A company that effects transactions in digital asset securities for its own account or the accounts of others must register as a broker-dealer under Section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In addition, these companies must meet the requirements of Rule 15c3-3 (the “Customer Protection Rule”) if they intend to custody digital asset securities.
July 26, 2019
The SEC's OCIE issued a Risk Alert detailing compliance issues noted during examinations of advisers who hire or employ individuals with a history of disciplinary events.
July 25, 2019
On June 5, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued the Standard of Conduct for Investment Advisers interpretation to reaffirm and clarify the SEC’s views of the fiduciary duty that investment advisers owe to their clients under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
July 23, 2019
Whilst the FCA’s priorities appear, for the time being, to be on understanding the nature and scale of reporting data errors and how they are addressed, failings under MiFID I moved it to take several high-profile enforcement actions. It is imperative that firms get to grips with their MiFID II transaction reporting processes and data quality checks as soon as possible.
July 17, 2019
The Senior Managers and Certification Regime (“SM&CR”) is new set of requirements that will affect all firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK. This includes US firms (and those based elsewhere) who have some presence in the UK. And because SM&CR touches on the way firms are governed, it has potential implications for senior managers and some other staff in such firms including, in some cases, those located in the US parent.
July 15, 2019
ACA Compliance Group and the Investment Adviser Association release the results from their 2019 Investment Management Compliance Testing Survey. For the sixth year in a row, cybersecurity remains the biggest compliance concern at registered investment adviser firms – with 83 percent of survey respondents identifying cybersecurity as the “hottest” compliance topic and 70 percent indicating that their firms increased compliance testing in this area over the past year.
July 11, 2019
On June 5, 2019, the SEC released a final comprehensive interpretation of the standard of conduct for investment advisers, which will become immediately effective upon publication in the Federal Register (anticipated July 2019). Here's what you need to know.