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The Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Potential Impact on Small and Mid-sized Businesses

On March 14, 2020, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”), after negotiation with the U.S. Secretary of Treasury. The Senate adopted the bill on March 18, 2020, which the President signed the same day. Under the terms of the legislation, the Act becomes effective no later…

Supreme Court Strengthens Protection of “Confidential” Information Under FOIA

Since 1967, the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) has provided the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. Federal agencies are required to disclose any information requested under the FOIA unless it falls under one of nine statutory exemptions. FOIA Exemption 4 of the 5 U.S.C. §552(b)(4) prevents mandatory…

FINRA Warns Firms Not to Lie or “Obfuscate” When Clients Ask About a Departed Rep

When a registered representative (“Rep”) with a large book of customers voluntarily resigns from one firm to join another, the Rep’s old firm immediately assigns a replacement. Excited about the potential to keep the book, the replacement Rep frequently races to contact the customers and secure their business. And when some of those customers…

Recent Enforcement Orders Remind FCMs: Train Your Brokers on Post- Execution Allocation Rules.

On May 29, 2018, the CFTC and NFA1, respectively, issued enforcement decisions against Chicago-based Xchange Financial Access, LLC (“XFA”) that should serve as a cautionary tale for Futures Commission Merchants, and other registrants, about the importance of training, updating supervisory procedures, and appropriately maintaining records. According to the regulators, XFA failed to supervise…

Equity Indexed and Variable Annuities: What are the Limitations of a State Securities Regulator’s Authority Over Their Sales Practices? (The ABA Blue Sky Bugle Newsletter, March 2018)

Two Illinois cases, Van Dyke v. Jesse White, 2016 IL App (4th) 141109 (currently pending before the Illinois Supreme Court as Docket No. 121452) and Thrivent Investment Management v. Illinois Securities Department, Circuit Court of Cook County Case No. 2016-CH-16406 (currently pending before the First District Appellate…

SEC Amends Financial Responsibility Rules, Customer Asset Protection, the Early Notification Rule and the Books & Records Rules for Broker-Dealers

During the last five years, the securities and futures industry has been rocked by highly publicized insolvencies of several major broker-dealers and futures commission merchants. These events have highlighted deficiencies in the customer asset protection schemes of both the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). On July…

Outside Business Activity*, Practical Compliance and Risk Management for the Securities Industry

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”)1 has adopted and proposed important changes to the current regulatory scheme and obligations relating to notice and supervision of outside business activities and private securities transactions. For a number of years, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (“NASD”) rules 3030, 3040 and 3050 were the principal…

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