Private equity firm Ares Management is settling with the SEC over charges that it lacked proper policies and procedures to oversee the handling of “material nonpublic information [MNPI],” a.k.a. insider information, according to the regulator’s order. The case revolves around the firm’s representation on a board of directors “of a listed issuer” in the Ares investment… Read More >>
Stifel Nicolaus Fined $3.6M on UIT Violation Charges
Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc., an investment bank, has been fined $3.6 million by FINRA, a regulatory authority for the financial services industry, for allegedly having an inadequate supervisory system in place to detect potentially unsuitable unit investment trust (UIT) rollovers, and also for failing to provide customers with accurate information so they can make… Read More >>
Smarsh Acquires Entreda to Bolster Cybersecurity Support
Electronic communications archiving vendor Smarsh will be able to bolster its cybersecurity risk and compliance offerings to broker-dealers, registered investment advisors (RIAs) and banks via its acquisition of Entreda, maker of a platform that unifies these services. Smarsh offers archiving and compliance support for email, social media, text messaging, instant messaging, websites, and voice. Through… Read More >>
Morgan Stanley Settles Wrap-Fee Case with SEC
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (MSSB) is settling charges that it provided misleading information to retail clients in its retail wrap fee programs regarding trade execution services and transaction costs, and the firm will pay a $5 million penalty that will be distributed to harmed investors, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports. The commission’s… Read More >>
Members Exchange Wins SEC’s & BlackRock’s Approval
A securities exchange start-up, the Members Exchange (MEMX), is on a roll via new strategic financing led by asset manager BlackRock, following a key approval by the SEC. While the launch of its first transaction venue was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, MEMX officials want their venue to get underway during the third quarter of… Read More >>
Bloomberg Settles Charges It Misled Tradebook Customers
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed “settled charges” against registered broker-dealer Bloomberg Tradebook LLC, founded in 1996 but no longer in operation, for “making material misrepresentations and omitting material facts” about how the firm handled certain customer trade orders. Bloomberg Tradebook has agreed to be censured and will pay a $5 million dollar… Read More >>
Musings on the New Ops Normal to Come
The global pandemic lockdown has given most of us a time-out that allows us to step back and reconsider a variety of situations. My mind went to scenarios for securities operations, and here are some of my musings on what-if scenarios that could pave the way for permanent changes, once we get to a new, safer… Read More >>
SEC & Exchanges Clash Over Market Data Order
U.S. equities exchanges are pushing back on the SEC’s sweeping order directing them and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to improve the governance structure for public, consolidated equity market data and the distribution of trade and quote data from trading venues. The order is intended to change the balance of power among trading venues… Read More >>
NY State’s Cryptocurrency Task Force to Consider Regulation
With Wall Street and other industries in mind, the New York state government has set in motion the creation of a digital currency task force that will investigate legislative and regulatory recommendations, among other issues, for the burgeoning cryptocurrency marketplace and the growing usage of blockchain technology. The task force got its final approval late… Read More >>
DTCC Bolsters Support for SFTR Reporting via Partnerships
Financial services firms are gearing up for the reporting requirements of the Securities Financing Transaction Regulation (SFTR), and the DTCC is partnering with EquiLend, Trax, IHS Markit and Pirum to improve its global trade reporting capabilities before the SFTR rules take effect by the end of next year. Even though SFTR originated with the European… Read More >>
