MyComplianceOffice Blog

The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently published the Risk Alert Observations from Examinations of Investment Advisers Managing Private Funds. 

The Risk Alert covers three general areas of deficiencies that the OCIE has identified in examinations of private fund advisers: conflicts of interest, fees and expenses, and policies and procedures relating to material non-public information (MNPI). The alert outlines concerns and compliance issues observed during examinations of registered investment advisers that manage private equity funds or hedge funds—and serves notice that the SEC will continue to put a high priority on customer well-being.

On March 23, 2020, the following statement was released from Stephanie Avakian and Steven Peikin, Co-Directors of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

On May 7, 2019, U.S. Representative James Himes (D-Conn) introduced the “Insider Trading Prohibition Act,” which would amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, by inserting a new section that defines the elements of criminal insider trading. The bill was passed unanimously in the House Financial Services Committee on May 10. 

Technology makes keeping material non-public information (MNPI) in compliance with securities laws and regulations a lot easier. As a longstanding priority to prevent insiders from wielding unfair market advantage, regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have explicit guidelines surrounding the sharing of MNPI among corporate insiders in advance of trading and investment deals.[1]