News & Events –

This month, the SEC Division of Examinations issued two alerts based on staff findings from recent examination initiatives. The first concerned advisers that offer automated digital investment services to their clients. The initiative was based on increases in the number of advisers operating, recommending or sponsoring discretionary robo-investment services. The targeted examination revealed widespread disclosure and supervisory deficiencies in these services. The second risk alert was a follow-up to previously issued guidance on fee-related deficiencies, compliance and disclosure issues. This new alert is based on a national exam initiative focusing on the calculation of advisory fees charged to retail clients and the adequacy of fee disclosures.

In a tally of enforcement actions taken in Fiscal Year 2021 (which ended September 30th), the SEC reported that its efforts “spanned the entire securities waterfront” to address emerging threats. The agency touted many “first-of-their kind enforcement actions” and “record-breaking achievements.” Among the emerging areas of prosecutorial interest, the SEC highlighted enforcement actions involving crypto, decentralized finance, SPACs, the “dark web,” Form CRS compliance, and unregistered electronic trading. The agency also highlighted (and linked to) “impactful” prosecutions against a host of entities.

How SEC Regulation Best Interest (“Reg BI”) became the prevailing federal standard for broker-dealer investment recommendations to clients is a long and complicated story. However, as of its June 30th, 2020 implementation date, Reg BI is the rule, which means that compliance with the rule’s requirements is mandatory and enforceable. In an unpleasant surprise for regulators and rule advocates, results from a recent NASAA reexamination initiative conclude that “broker-dealer firms still are not abiding by the Reg BI rule now in effect.” The report was greeted with strong industry reaction. In this article, Bates takes a look at what NASAA found and how it is being received.

Join Bates Group at the IMTC World Conference 2021, the signature event of the Cross Border Transfers & Payments Industry, November 16-19, 2021. Online and in person at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Miami, FL. Bates Managing Director of AML Compliance Brandi B. Reynolds (CAMS-Audit, CCI, CCCE) is a featured speaker and instructor at this conference.

Government entities have begun in earnest to address concerns over the rapidly expanding crypto marketplace. Congress has passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets issued a substantial report on a framework for regulating stablecoins. These actions on taxation and oversight are the first real steps toward regulation of an industry that SEC Chair Gary Gensler only recently likened to the "Wild West." In this article, Bates takes a closer look at the soon-to-be-new law on digital asset taxation and the proposed regulations on stablecoins amid the broader debate on crypto regulation.

Join Bates Group at the American Bar Association’s 2021 Women in Litigation Joint CLE Conference, November 17-19 at the Boston Park Plaza in Boston, MA. The conference features accomplished securities and insurance speakers, including Bates Affiliate Expert Sheila Murphy.

Bates Compliance is proud to be a Silver MemberAlly sponsor of the 2021 NSCP National Conference, November 8-10 at the Gaylord National Hotel in National Harbor, MD. Bates Managing Directors Linda Shirkey and Hank Sanchez will be speaking on conference panels.

In a Field Assistance Bulletin issued on October 25, 2021, the Department of Labor extended relief through Jan. 31, 2022 on a Prohibited Transaction Exemption (“PTE”), titled "Improving Investment Advice for Workers and Retirees.” The exemption is offered to registered investment advisers, broker dealers, financial institutions, and insurance companies that “provide fiduciary investment advice to Retirement Investors.”

Join Bates at Legalpalooza, the Premier one-day virtual CLE event sponsored by the Morris County (NJ) Bar Association, on November 4, 2021 from 9:30 to 5:30 pm.

Bates Compliance Director Rory O'Connor was quoted in a recent ThinkAdvisor Trendspotter article on the surge in state-to-SEC registrations.

On October 6, 2021, in his first speech as SEC Enforcement Division, Director Gurbir Grewal urged participants at a PLI Broker/Dealer Regulation and Enforcement Conference to take a “proactive approach” and engage in real “cooperation” in order to “promote better conduct among market participants.”

On October 8, 2021, FINRA urged member firms to review and update their Anti-Money Laundering compliance programs in light of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s recently published priorities on the subject. FinCEN came out with those priorities on June 30, 2021, in accordance with AML Act of 2020, which became law on January 1, 2021.

As the news and impact of COVID-19 continue to evolve, Bates Group continues to promote the health and safety of our employees, consultants, and clients, as well as ensure uninterrupted operations during this crisis. Read the letter from Bates CEO Jennifer Stout. 

Remember 2010? Prince William and Kate got engaged. Tiger Woods apologized. BP Deepwater Horizon exploded. And Mark Zuckerberg was named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year.” Also in February 2010, the SEC issued guidance to public companies on climate change-related disclosure obligations. Fast forward over ten years later and on September 22, 2021, the SEC Division of Corporation Finance (“Division”) reminded issuers about complying with that 2010 guidance. 

Bates Group is excited to announce the acquisition of CorCom, a top AML compliance consulting firm based in Spartanburg, SC. 

Bates welcomes Kurt Wachholz as a new Managing Director of Bates Compliance. With over 30 years of financial industry experience serving in a range of financial service firms, he works closely with firm officers to identify regulatory obligations, compliance risks, and program challenges.