On May 19, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged a broker-dealer, BTIG, LLC (“BTIG”), with repeatedly violating the (i) order-marking and (ii) locate provisions of Regulation SHO, in connection with more than 90 sale orders from a single hedge fund customer. Regulation SHO regulates short sales of securities and is aimed, in large…

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors have become a key discussion point in the asset  management industry, with many managers incorporating ESG considerations into the investment processes.  In 2019, ESG investment funds increased by $70 billion while traditional equity funds saw an outflow of $200 billion.  ESG investments continue to increase in comparison to “traditional” equity…

The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations recently published a risk alert related to investment advisers managing Digital Assets for their clients, either directly or indirectly through pooled investment vehicles.  The risk alert makes it clear that digital assets create a number of unique compliance challenges that firms should consider. Based upon risks identified…

Representatives Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), Andy Levin (D-MI) and Katie Porter (D-CA) released H.R. 1068[1] on February 16, 2021, known as the “Carried Interest Fairness Act” (the “Act”).  The Carried Interest Fairness Act would tax carried interest compensation at ordinary income tax rates and treating it as wage income subject to employment taxes.  Capital gains taxation…

On December 22, 2020, the SEC amended the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, with respect to advertisements and payments to solicitors by investment advisers.[1] The amendments create a single rule (the “Rule”) that supplants the existing advertising and cash solicitation rules, marking the first time in more than 40 years that the SEC…