Jan. 5, 2023 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Randy Robertson, a former BlackRock Advisors, LLC portfolio manager, for failing to disclose a conflict of interest arising from his relationship with a film distribution company in which the fund he managed for BlackRock invested millions of dollars. To […]
Compliance
SEC Charges Honeywell with Bribery Schemes in Algeria and Brazil
Dec. 19, 2022 —The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against Honeywell International Inc. for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) arising out of bribery schemes that took place in Brazil and Algeria. The company has agreed to pay more than $81 million to settle the SEC’s […]
SEC Adopts Amendments to Modernize Rule 10b5-1 Insider Trading Plans and Related Disclosures
On December 14, 2022 the SEC adopted amendments to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and new disclosure requirements for plans adopted pursuant to the rule to enhance investor protections against insider trading. The amendments include updates to Rule 10b5-1(c)(1), which provides an affirmative defense to insider […]
AT&T Settles SEC Charge of Selectively Disclosing Material Information to Wall St. Analysts
Dec. 5, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that AT&T agreed to pay a $6.25 million penalty and three company executives agreed to pay $25,000 apiece stemming from charges brought in March 2021 related to the company’s selective disclosure of material nonpublic information to research analysts in violation of […]
SEC Publishes FY22-26 Strategic Plan
Nov. 23, 2022 —The Securities and Exchange Commission today released its Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2022 to 2026, outlining agency objectives to fight against fraud, maintain a robust and relevant regulatory framework, and sustain a skilled and diverse workforce to serve America’s investors and capital-raising entrepreneurs alike. “Our capital […]
New Private Fund Reporting Rules Proposed
The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted to propose amendments to Form PF, the confidential reporting form for certain SEC-registered investment advisers to private funds. The amendments, which the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is concurrently considering to propose jointly with the SEC, are designed to enhance the Financial Stability […]
SEC Adopts Compensation Recovery Listing Standards and Disclosure Rules
Oct. 26, 2022 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted rules to require securities exchanges to adopt listing standards that require issuers to develop and implement a policy providing for the recovery of erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation received by current or former executive officers. The final rules require a […]
SEC Proposes New Oversight Requirements for Certain Services Outsourced by Investment Advisers
Oct. 26, 2022 — The SEC proposed a new rule and rule amendments under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to prohibit registered investment advisers from outsourcing certain services and functions without conducting due diligence and monitoring of the service providers. “Registered investment advisers — more than 15,000 of them […]
SEC Rule Amendments Related to Preserving Electronic Records
The SEC’s broker-dealer electronic recordkeeping rule currently requires firms to preserve electronic records exclusively in a non-rewriteable, non-erasable format, known as the write once, read many format. The amendments add an audit-trail alternative under which electronic records can be preserved in a manner that permits the recreation of an original […]
VMware Settles SEC Charges with $8 Million Penalty for Obscuring Financial Performance
Sept. 12, 2022 —The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged VMware Inc. for misleading investors about its order backlog management practices, which enabled the Palo Alto, California-based technology company to push revenue into future quarters by delaying product deliveries to customers, concealing the company’s slowing performance relative to its projections. […]