MyComplianceOffice Blog

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) recently released their Statistical Summary of 18-Month Campaign Activity of the 2019-2020 Election Cycle. The data shows that the 2020 election cycle has so far seen record-breaking political donations across the board.

 This unprecedented level of contributions combined with stringent regulations, low donation thresholds, and past history of strict enforcement actions means that Pay-to-Play compliance needs to be a top-of-mind concern for firms of all sizes right now.

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.

As most employees are now working from home, without a doubt, compliance has become more challenging and regulators expect firms to be prepared to manage the risks and challenges promptly. Compliance Week has run a survey to understand how prepared were compliance professionals and organizations for the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 7 the SEC published two Risk Alerts providing broker-dealers and investment advisors with information on the expected scope of initial Regulation Best Interest enforcement. The guidance indicated that initial exams will focus on evidence that firms have made “good faith” efforts to comply.

On April 2 the SEC issued a statement indicating that despite the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the June 30, 2020 deadline for Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) would not be deferred.