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In July, the SEC issued an Investor Bulletin to raise awareness of the risks associated with Initial Coin Offerings, which are investment offerings made by “virtual” organizations utilizing distributed ledger or blockchain technology. [1] The virtual coins or tokens that are issued in these offerings are typically offered and sold on the basis that…
In May, a group of Democratic and Republican senators and representatives in Michigan introduced proposed legislation aimed at protecting Michigan’s seniors, and other vulnerable adults, from financial abuse by mandating that financial advisers report suspected abuse to Adult Protective Services and law enforcement. Other key features of the proposed legislation…
Under recently approved amendments to FINRA Rule 4512, which are set to go into effect in February 2018, financial advisors will be required to make reasonable efforts to obtain the name of, and contact information for, a “trusted contact person” for senior accounts. FINRA Rule 4512 (Customer Account Information). A request for such…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ended 2016 with a bang last week when it ruled that the SEC’s long-standing practice of using “non-appointed” Administrative Law Judges (“ALJs”) to preside over agency enforcement hearings violates the Appointment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The decision in Bandimere v SEC was accompanied by a…