It is no secret that industry regulation is picking up pace. Here is a potpourri of recent developments:
- James Shorris, executive VP of FINRA's enforcement division, recently said monitoring Reg D private placements will be a "major major initiative".
- In what some describe as a funding "surge", Obama administration fiscal 2012 budget proposals would give the SEC a 28% funding increase to $1.427 billion and the CFTC an 82% jump in funding to $308 million compared to actual fiscal 2010 spending levels.
- A new FINRA rule - slated to go into effect July 1, 2011, will require BD's to self report within 30 days after they concluded or should have concluded that they or a broker of theirs has violated securities, insurance, commodities and financial or investment-related laws, rules, regulations or standards of conduct of any domestic, or foreign body or self-regulatory organization.
- The SEC is making increased noise about a new and universal fiduciary standard for the retail investment community - in short, the proverbial handwriting is on the wall of a vastly higher standard of conduct bar that persons like BD's, commodities firms, and their supervised persons will have to to hurdle in order to avoid liability when things go south for their customers.
- The SEC and CFTC continue to churn out rules on swaps and derivatives.
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Robert Kiggins, Esq. of McCarthy Fingar LLP, is author of the blog, and may be reached at (914) 385-1024 or rkiggins@mccarthyfingar.com.
Nothing is this blog is intended to be or may be relied upon as specific legal advice. Securities and related laws are complex and competent counsel should be consulted. Views expressed by the author in this article are his own and not those of any other person.
