OCIE

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On July 28, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the creation of the Event and Emerging Risks Examination Team (EERT) in the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE). The EERT will engage with financial firms about emerging threats and current market events so that it can provide expertise and resources to the SEC’s regional…

On January 27, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a statement summarizing its observations of cybersecurity and operational resiliency practices of broker-dealers, investment advisers, clearing agencies, national securities exchanges and other SEC registrants (the Observations). In its introduction to the Observations, the OCIE staff notes that cybersecurity is a key priority for OCIE. Therefore, although the OCIE staff acknowledges that there is not a “one-size fits all” approach to addressing cybersecurity, it recommends that SEC registrants assess their cybersecurity practices in light of the Observations.
Continue Reading OCIE Provides Observations on Cybersecurity and Operational Resiliency Best Practices

On April 16, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Risk Alert providing a list of compliance issues related to Regulation S-P, the primary SEC rule regarding privacy notices and safeguard policies of investment advisers and broker-dealers. The issues proscribed in the Risk Alert were identified…

On December 20, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the Securities and Exchange Commission announced its 2019 examination priorities. This year, OCIE’s examination priorities are divided into six categories:

  1. examining compliance and risk in registrants responsible for critical market infrastructure;
  2. protecting retail investors, including seniors and those saving for retirement;
  3. continuing oversight

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On July 11, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Risk Alert to provide investment advisers and other market participants with information concerning many of the most common deficiencies that OCIE staff has found in recent examinations of investment advisers’ compliance with their best execution obligations under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”). The Advisers Act best execution obligation requires an investment adviser to execute securities transactions for clients in such a manner that the client’s total costs, or proceeds in each transaction, are the most favorable under the circumstances taking into consideration the full range and quality of a broker-dealer’s services including, among other things, the value of research provided as well as execution capability, commission rate, financial responsibility, and responsiveness to the investment adviser. Furthermore, an investment adviser should periodically evaluate the execution quality of broker-dealers executing their clients’ transactions.
Continue Reading OCIE Issues Risk Alert on Compliance Issues Related to Best Execution by Investment Advisers

The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the Securities and Exchange Commission has announced its examination priorities for 2018. This year, the OCIE’s examination priorities fall within the following categories: examining compliance and risks in critical market infrastructures; protecting retail investors, including seniors and those saving for retirement; continuing oversight over the Financial …

On May 17, the Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), issued a Risk Alert in response to the widespread ransomware attack known as WannaCry, WCry, or Wanna Decryptor that started on May 12. The attack infected computers and servers of various organizations in more than 100 countries. The Risk Alert encourages broker-dealers and investment management firms (collectively, “Firms”) to review the May 12 alert published by the US Department of Homeland Security’s Computer Emergency Readiness Team and evaluate whether applicable patches for their operating systems are properly and timely installed.
Continue Reading SEC Issues Risk Alert in Response to WannaCry Ransomware Attack

On January 12, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) released its 2017 examination priorities, which seek to address: (1) the protection of retail investors; (2) risks related to elderly and retiring investors; and (3) market-wide risks.
Continue Reading 2017 Examination Priorities Announced by the SEC