News & Events – Compliance and Regulatory Alerts

In this first of a series of conversations with Bates Group practice leaders, we caught up with Robert Lavigne, Managing Director and Bates Compliance Practice Leader, and Hank Sanchez, Esq., Bates Compliance Managing Director and former SEC and FINRA regulator, to get an understanding of what they are hearing from compliance officers right now, as well as advice for compliance teams in the "new normal."

The countdown is on! Join our complimentary Form CRS for IAs webinar Thursday, April 30, 2020. Specifically designed for SEC-registered IAs, this webinar will help you tackle Form CRS with confidence. Presented by Bates Compliance.

The SEC recently adopted new Rule 498A under the Securities Act, including various supporting amendments, to “simplify and streamline” the disclosure framework for variable annuities and variable life insurance contracts. As Bates described when the rule was first proposed, the new rule allows for a plain-English, easy to read, concise “summary prospectus” to satisfy obligations under the securities laws concerning variable product prospectus delivery. Read more to prepare for the July 1, 2020 effective date.

On April 7, 2020, the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issued two new alerts to broker-dealers and investment advisers about the “expected scope and content” of its compliance examinations for Reg BI and the Client Relationship Summary (“Form CRS”). Previously, SEC Chair Jay Clayton announced that the June 30, 2020 compliance deadline for Reg BI will not be delayed due to the impact of COVID-19. These alerts, therefore, underscore the need for firms to be prepared and compliant by the deadline. Here, we detail what the SEC is expecting from you and firms.

Compliance is challenging to begin with, but in this new landscape, it is an even greater stretch for compliance teams to manage company-wide systems while working remotely. Here are five items you should be thinking about when addressing supervision and control functions.

The SEC’s IAA Release No. 5469 on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 amends its IAA Release No. 5463 and now allows for extending the filing and delivery deadline dates of the Form ADV amendment to June 30, 2020 due to COVID-19 and its consequences. The SEC has also amended the notice requirements—find out what you MUST do if you cannot meet the filing deadlines.

In a Notice issued on February 27, FINRA advised firms of their responsibilities over custodial accounts under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act and Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (“UTMA/UGMA”) and warned members that adequate compliance requires firms to take into account termination of custodianship and changes of authority. Bates can help your firm respond to UTMA/UGMA account inquiries.

FINRA has announced that, in response to the evolving coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), it “has decided to administratively postpone all in-person arbitration and mediation proceedings scheduled through May 1, 2020. “

The SEC’s IAA Release No. 5463 on Friday, March 13 allows for extending the filing (March 30) and delivery (April 30) deadline dates of the Form ADV amendment by 45 days due to COVID-19 and its consequences However, this is not an automatic extension—find out what you MUST do if you cannot meet the filing deadlines

Bates Compliance Practice Leader Robert “Bob” Lavigne is quoted in a new article entitled “Reg BI Compliance Race is On,” published by ThinkAdvisor.

If you’ve been in meetings about investor communications, business travel, or other contingency planning over the past few days and weeks, you are not alone. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus (also referred to as COVID-19) and more recently, the precipitous volatility of the financial markets, financial firms have been deluged with questions from just about every stakeholder group about how to respond. Regulators are weighing in as well. Bates looks at some of the efforts to prepare and reassure everyone out there.

In his cover note accompanying FINRA’s annual Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities letter, FINRA President and CEO Robert Cook reminded members of significant enhancements to the examination program going forward. Bates Research has analysis, commentary and highlights of FINRA’s continuing and emerging concerns, along with our 2020 FINRA chart, which keeps track of articulated priorities from year to year.

Understand what Reg BI requires now — and what more you must implement before the final deadline. Download our new white paper: "SEC’s Regulation Best Interest Perspectives on Firm Compliance."

The SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") set out their 2020 examinations priorities in an annual report issued last week. The report reminds registered entities that all its priorities are within the SEC’s mandate to protect investors, facilitate capital formation, and maintain fair, orderly and efficient markets. The report is, in effect, a notice to the industry and chief compliance officers to address potential vulnerabilities in compliance programs and practices in order to minimize retail investor and market risks. Bates Research takes a closer look.

FINRA has announced their regulatory and examination priorities for the upcoming year. New for this year is a focus on Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) and Form CRS (Client Relationship Summary).

The SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations has announced their exam priorities for the upcoming year. Stay tuned to the Bates News page in the upcoming weeks for our expert commentary on the SEC's 2020 objectives