Compliance Pitfalls for Newly Registered Investment Advisers

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Examinations  Risk Alert: Observations from Examinations of Newly-Registered Advisers covers the regulator’s typical focus areas and common observations. The Alert warns newly-registered advisers to pay close attention to the firm’s compliance policies and procedures, disclosures and marketing practices – advice that well-established firms should be heeding as well.

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Insider Trading in the Lead-Up to the Banking Crisis

The stability of the global banking system is a top-of-mind concern for everyone right now. And as the world worries about bank liquidity and the safety of their deposits, a handful of executives have been using access to insider information to turn staggering profits by selling off company stock.

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MAS Bans Payment for Order Flow (PFOF) from 1 April 2023

In late 2022, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced a complete ban on payment for order flow (PFOF) in Singapore. The move is designed to protect investor interests by mitigating the risk of conflicts of interest arising in brokers’ best execution obligations to their customers. The PFOF ban will commence on 1 April 2023 and can affect financial firms and individuals operating under a capital markets services (CMS) licence in Singapore.

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Outside Business Activity: Putting the Spotlight on Moonlighting

“Remember - NO TWO-TIMING - NO MOONLIGHTING”, reads a recent email from Infosys to its employees. The communication stresses the clauses of Infosys employment contracts, which restrict its employees from taking up secondary employment.

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FCA Fines Asset Management Firm and Employee for Conflicts of Interest

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has clearly set expectations to ensure that asset managers conduct their business with due skill, care and diligence and that they manage conflicts of interest, between the firm or its employees and its customers or between its customers, fairly. A European asset management firm was recently fined £9.1mn by the FCA for failure to adhere to these principles and effectively manage conflicts of interest.

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